


Animorphs 63 - The Leader

by Adam2810



Series: Animorphs: New War [10]
Category: Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate
Genre: Alien Character(s), Alien Planet, Alien Technology, Aliens, Gen, Investigations, Leadership, New Planets, Post-War, Rescue, new characters - Freeform, search mission
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:51:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 26,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23819491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adam2810/pseuds/Adam2810
Summary: Asaccah has intercepted a transmission sent from an obscure moon near the Gratt Border. The sender is Ax, and he's escaped the clutches of the Kelbrids and The One. He's calling for help. The Animorphs will not hesitate to investigate, but there are many suspisions regarding the message, and The One is known to make clones of its captives...Is it really Ax?
Series: Animorphs: New War [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1412062
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

I put on my best attire. Best wasn’t the appropriate word.

When we set off for _Enrich,_ we didn’t know precisely how many sets of clothes to bring, but after almost a week deep in the far reaches of Space, we were starting to feel that maybe our stay was to be lengthier than we originally anticipated. I certainly didn’t expect to have to dress smartly on this particular evening.

Thankfully, I had brought some smart-casual clothing. I had a lightly chequered button-up shirt and some straight jeans. After shaving and combing my hair neatly, I didn’t look like the scruffy, worn soldier that I had suddenly become.

I tugged at my collar, inspecting it in the drop-down mirror that was one of only a few features of my isolated cabin. Over the low rumbling of the large, active ship, I heard the material crease and crumple beneath my fingers. I held the top button, stared at it, and decided to keep that one loose. I didn’t have a tie.

I was ready to go.

My journey took me up fourteen floors via the rapid-transportation elevators, so quick that you barely had time to stop and stand still before you were being shooed out by the next user. Even after being on _Enrich_ for so long, I would always be passing aliens that I’d never even imagined seeing. The varieties and directions that life took throughout the universe were unreal and unnerving. The numbers dissipated, however, when I reached the Heads of Departments – or HoDs – floor. Here, only the most important and influential members would venture. I’d only been there twice, and this was the third time.

The corridors were sweeping halls of gold and velvet, and the scents of flowers from the most beautiful planets. Even the ship’s low hum was gone, replaced by the music of some unknown race, undoubtedly toted as the greatest purveyors of sound across all galaxies. It made Human music sound like nails on a chalkboard.

At the end of the corridor, a set of steps descended into a round lobby. The was a sculpture far up above, a perfect model of the upper half of _Enrich._ In the center was a light casting its glow upon the whole room. It represented the very room in which I stood. I was in the heart of _Enrich._

There was a door directly ahead. It was, like the room, a perfect circle. Beside it stood an alien, tall and somewhat slimy in appearance, the skin shimmering with wetness. On top of the slender, stick-like body was a pointed head with a tiny mouth and large, studying eyes. It wore a bowl over its head, filled with water, just like Arkv had.

I walked over to it. The unfamiliar alien seemed to recognize me immediately and stepped aside with an open arm. With a muffled voice, it said, “Welcome to the _Enrich_ Hall. Please, find your seat and dine with the etiquette of your people.”

“Thank you,” I replied. The door ahead of me was easily pressed open, and the noises of the _Enrich_ Hall came whispering through, introducing a brilliant view of mahogany and gold. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but everything about the ship was unbelievable thing after another.

Imagine the fanciest dining hall in your head. Multiply it by fifty. Then, perhaps, you’d come close. Every surface was impossibly clean, and the air was fresher than could ever be achieved on Earth. The ceiling was an art-piece of white and pale yellow in wispy, glorious patterns that stretched down to thick pillars lining the walls like sentries. Every curve, and every edge, was shimmering and without flaw. 

And it was all there for those marvelous few. They sat around a table of sixteen, and most were present by this time. Some chairs were bigger, and some smaller; whatever was necessary to comfortably seat body forms so diverse. I’d seen all of them before, some more than others, and few didn’t continue to frighten.

The co-founder, and by far the spookiest, was Surote. The Yeerk was greeting diners as they entered, and his bug-centaur body was unnervingly motionless. Even his eyes. Only his mouth jittered when he uttered the words, “Good evening, Jake. You look splendid this day. You’ve shaved.”

“Yeah,” I replied emptily. “Beard was a little scruffy. Thought, ‘why not just get rid of it?’”

“You’ve always been a smart thinker,” he said, mechanical mouth turning up into a smile. Then, his upper body swiveled, and a hand raised towards the table. “Please, take a seat. We are only waiting for two more diners.”

“Thanks,” I said. Then I walked past as his body jerked back into its previous position.

I was left to find my seat. Amongst the ensemble of weird and wacky aliens, only a few places remained. Two of them looked like they could sit a Human being. Fortunately, I didn’t have to guess which was mine. 

The tendriled head of a Kelbrid twisted to look over its left shoulder. A toothy grin shone. “Well, hello there, Jake Berenson! You look a completely different Human! Get yourself down here.” He yanked back the empty, Human-sized seat beside him.

I knew Burr-Ammit. He seemed like a pretty trustworthy guy, from what I’d experienced. Friendly, too, unlike his Andalite counterpart. However, I didn’t see Asaccah anywhere.

I took his invitation and sat carefully into the padded seat. Its comfort was immediate and unsurprising. I’d almost gotten used to absolute pleasure.

“It’s good to see ya,” Burr-Ammit greeted heartily. 

He slapped his hand onto my arm and gripped with fat fingers. I gasped and recoiled, but he maintained his grip. My mind jumped straight to the toxin that Kelbrids harbored. Of course, I had no reason to fear. That knowledge couldn’t override my instinct.

“Haha!” Burr-Ammit chortled. “Got you there, didn’t I?! Never fear, Jake, I wouldn’t kill ya! I like you too much, you know?”

“Just hope he never changes his mind.”

The voice was high-pitched. I politely pulled my arms from Burr-Ammit’s fingers and turned to face the diner sitting opposite. The white ball of fluff gawked at me with bulging pink eyes. At its side were stubby little limbs, and it smiled at me with a button-snout. The chair would seem far too large for its round fluffball body.

“Excuse me?” I asked, not quite knowing how else to react.

“He’s changed his mind before!” The furball chirped.

Burr-Ammit laughed like it was a trivial comment. “That’s Ittee. I _would_ suggest not letting her appearance fool you, but he is what he seems. Not much more to her, you get me?”

“I can inflate to ten times my natural body size, actually!” She hissed.

Burr-Ammit huffed dismissively and whispered to me, “We use her for sports practice when we can’t find a ball. You wouldn’t guess that she is the adviser to the high-leader of the Telemk galaxy, would you?”

“No…” I admitted.

I remained mostly quiet as we waited for the last of the diners. My conversations were limited to hums of neutrality as Ittee and Burr-Ammit exchanged banter from either side of me. I said polite hellos to others in my near vicinity, but apart from that, I felt too awkward to say much else.

These were, without exaggeration, some of, if not _the_ most powerful beings in the Universe. My first time was never going to be easy.

I was relieved when the last of the diners arrived, but my relief wouldn’t last for long. Surote returned to the head of the table, and all conversations died down to the quietest whispers.

Surote smiled, and when he did, a hole appeared in front of every diner at the table. I gazed down into the circular blackness and watched as a bowl rose to greet me. There were rubbery pink squares packed neatly within. _Idnsi_ gum. An appetizer.

“Welcome, all!” Surote said to the alien montage ahead of him. “I’m sure you’re all ready for our feast after a busy period.”

The room gave its unanimous approval.

“And we have a guest tonight! It’s been a while since we had a Human among us! In fact…”

“First time!” somebody called out. 

“You’re right, it’s the first time,” Surote agreed. “Jake Berenson, don’t be afraid to get involved with the conversation that you hear tonight. This is your opportunity to touch the heart of _Enrich!_ ”

I looked at him briefly to say, “thank you,” before looking down at my bowl once more.

“Perhaps you’re wondering why you’ve been invited here.”

He said it with a much more severe tone than he had previously used, and I looked up once more. The table had fallen silent. Under his silence, I felt pressured to respond. “It crossed my mind,” I replied.

Surote smiled, and it seemed to be an attempt at reassurance. “We’ve been very open since you first discovered us,” he said. “And it would be a tremendous shame if we started to close our mouths to each other. _Enrich_ has always prided itself on its transparency. Many tragedies have, of course, erupted from the dark caves of secrets!”

“Like the Elmand War,” Burr-Ammit suggested.

Surote was in agreement. “Precisely. Jake, we hope that _Enrich_ can build the most open relationship possible with you, and the other Animorphs. From my own experience, you have lived up to this, and for that, we all thank you.”

I nodded. “We wouldn’t keep secrets. I don’t think we could if we tried.”

I expected a chuckle, even just a tiny one. The table remained stone-cold silent.

Surote continued, “We must maintain our side of this trust. Your friend Cassie was recently visiting by Andalite law enforcement. They wanted your location in return for her freedom.”

It was the first I’d heard of it. “What happened?”

“With some help from us, she was able to gain valuable information. That information has allowed her to hold off the Andalites for now. Thankfully, she will not have her freedom taken from her.

“That’s good news,” I said. However, from his tone, I knew that more was to come. There was more to the story.

His robotic arms reached forward and grabbed the edge of the table. He looked to me with his stern, unblinking eyes. “You know our policy on leaks, do you not?”

I nodded lightly. “Yeah. I know.”

“Our informant has told us that two people are suspicious. They are suspicious of outside involvement. Specifically, they are suspicious of the one you know as Jeanne Gerard.”

That was bad. Very bad. I bit my lip and looked down at the table again, wondering who he could be talking about. I had the answers in my head before he could tell me. 

With some sympathy in his voice, he told me, “The Human Ronnie Chambers, and the Hork-Bajir Toby Hamee. Jeanne Gerard regrets to say that both of them have their suspicions. We are not at the point of… correcting this, but I have brought you here to pass the message to you. Do you understand why I would pass it on?”

I felt cold and numb. I struggled to give my response, and my hands gripped the edge of the table harder than I initially realized. “Yes,” was all I could respond.

Surote elucidated, “You know these creatures. I tell you for transparency, and so that, given the opportunity, you can reverse these suspicions before it’s too late.”

Too late…

I saw Cassie. She was more apparent than any alien sat around the table. I saw her with tears in her eyes, sitting alone by her fireside.

I’d never gotten to know Ronnie. In fact, I hardly ever met the guy, because I preferred to stay well clear. Old scars didn’t need picking. However, I knew how much he meant to Cassie and how ruined she would be if her own actions took him away. She carried enough guilt on her shoulders.

“No,” I said.

Surote’s metal eyelids narrowed. “Excuse me?”

“You won’t,” I replied.

He was puzzled but determined to take any explanation. “I do anything for _Enrich,_ ” He swore.

“Not that. I wouldn’t let you.”

His hands snapped away from the table, and his posture rose. The silence of everybody else dropped somehow further.

“We had an agreement,” He uttered warningly. “You understood.”

“You want transparency,” I said. “This is it. If you lay a hand on them, we’ll serve our own justice.”

“Then you know nothing about justice!” He burst. “What we do is for the greatest cause. You would stand in the way of that for the sake of two? How many would die if you got your way, Jake Berenson? Do you not remember the guilt of your own actions?!”

I remained seated, no matter how much I wanted to run. “I remember,” I told him.

His voice settled to an eerie tone. “You remember how I forgave your sins. This one, I would never forgive. Cross me, and you will die.”

We stared at each other. I dared not blink.

Then, Burr-Ammit laughed. It distracted us both. “Now, now. This was meant to be a friendly occasion! I think we need more wine!”

The room chanted its agreement, but it was tinged with a tension that wouldn’t soon disperse.

“Yes, it was,” Surote muttered, still with fury in his eyes. “I offer transparency, and this is how I’m repaid."

“Surote!” Burr-Ammit called. “We can discuss that later. Let’s fill our stomachs and forget about whatever duties we need to forget about. Tonight, we celebrate!”

He continued to stare, the clogs churning in his mind. Then, he reached forward, and he took from the table a half-full glass. He raised it.

“To _Enrich._ ”

“To _Enrich_!” the room replied.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Everybody gathered in my quarters after I’d spread the message. They trickled in like sludge.

Menderash was the last to arrive, and I could tell that he had his suspicions. More so than anybody else. He was the most skeptical of us all about the ship we found ourselves irreversibly tied to.

I had tied the knot. Now, we would discuss whether to slice the rope.

“Thank you for coming,” I said to the room once everybody had settled onto a cloud-like floor. Not even the impossible levels of comfort that _Enrich_ provided could ease the atmosphere. Only Tobias - clutched to Menderash’s shoulder - held a stern, emotionless expression.

“No problem, boss,” Santorelli uttered without his typical enthusiasm.

I didn’t want to beat around the bush. It would only come across as grappling for safety. “We have a problem.”

“I thought you’d say that,” Marco opined.

“Surote has warned me that Toby and Ronnie are getting a little too close to realizing that something is up,” I told them. “If they find out about _Enrich,_ or even start to suspect that we’re getting outside help, then Surote could have them killed.”

I saw Marco’s subtle shake of the head. He bit his lip, indicative of his restraint.

“That’s bullshit,” Santorelli said. “You know, I thought these guys were all about justice!”

“You don’t get it yet?” Marco responded to him, removing his chin from a resting palm. “They think that if anybody else finds out about _Enrich,_ their game will be up. What good is corruption if it’s not in secret?”

“Corruption is a very strong word here…” I warned him cautiously.

“Manipulation, then,” He corrected. “What else would you call it? A puppet show?”

“Sure feels like they got their hands up our asses,” Santorelli added helpfully.

I had to regain hold of the conversation. No doubt, we would be heard. Surote would let debate slide, I hoped. “We need to remember what our goal is here,” I reminded them. “What we signed up for.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Marco huffed. “Ax, Ax, Ax. Do you know what he’d say to us right now? He’d tell us to stop fucking around with these nutjobs!”

“I agree,” Menderash said. “Prince Aximili would never endorse this. It’s madness. Surote is a Yeerk, and he is manipulating us. We have been doing his dirty work, and we have gained nothing from it.”

<That’s not true.>

Every head turned to Tobias, who usually remained so quiet these days. It was strange to hear his voice.

<We have new morphing powers an indirect access to the most advanced technology the universe has ever seen.>

“Indirect, indeed,” Menderash interrupted. “We have no access to it ourselves. We are permitted to _take advantage_ of it when it suits those who own it. And what have we done with that? How have we progressed?”

Tobias continued, <We’ve saved lives.>

Marco blew a derisive raspberry. “You’re kidding, right? Did you just hear what Jake said? They want to kill Toby and Ronnie! Are you hearing yourself right now?!”

<They don’t want to, and they probably won’t,> Tobias argued. <Jake, what exactly did Surote say? Was it a warning? A threat?>

I thought back to how it was spoken. My memories were admittedly corrupted by the bitterness of the conversation that surrounded Tobias' words. “He told me that they were suspicious of Jeanne… Clarissa… whatever her name is. He said it was about transparency.”

“Hypocrites…” Menderash growled.

I carried on, saying, “He said that he hopes we reverse the suspicions.”

<So it wasn’t a threat,> Tobias said, seeking clarification.

“Not in that sense, no,” I replied.

“The intent is there,” Menderash countered.

I could see the divisions becoming clear. I had to remain impartial, at least until the very end.

“I can’t believe we’re even arguing about this!” Marco groaned. “Do you know what we’ll be doing to Cassie?! She’ll come home, and Ronnie will be dead on the floor somewhere. Why? Because Jeanne isn’t as good at acting as she says she is. Ronnie’s a nice dude! And innocent, may I remind you? I _will not_ be a part of this anymore. No way. Nuh-uh!”

“Gotta agree with Monkey man on this one, boss,” Santorelli regretfully said.

“It’s not as easy as that,” I said. “And you know it’s not.”

Marco looked at me with more sympathy than I would ever have liked. It hurt. “Dude… You remember when you said you wouldn’t make mistakes again?”

I couldn’t help but bow my head and recall, knowing so well that, just maybe, I’d made the very mistake I told myself that I wouldn’t.

“This is it,” Marco continued. “This is the big one. We’ve messed up.”

“Not yet,” I urged.

He shook his head. “We’re talking about our so-called _allies_ potentially killing Cassie’s boyfriend. Yeah, we’ve messed up.”

“It won’t come to that,” I said. “We talk to Cassie, and we let her know what’s going on. We talk to Jeanne, too.”

Marco shrugged. “I don’t know about Ronnie, but Toby seems like the kinda girl who won’t drop a bone. She’s as good as dead.”

<So what do you suggest we do?> Tobias asked. <Leave _Enrich_ and swear ourselves to secrecy?>

“That won’t help,” Marco answered. “Not for Ronnie and Toby, anyway. And you honestly think they’ll just let us go like that? Please, be serious, Tobias.”

Tobias’ tone changed. He was getting frustrated, perhaps feeling that he was the only contradictory voice in the room. <We’re talking about them like they’re the bad guys! Haven’t they proven enough to us that they only have good intentions?>

“I’m not usually one for metaphorical stuff,” Santorelli chimed in. “But doesn’t that sound like how the road to evil is paved?” 

“It’s a suitable phrase, I think,” Menderash agreed.

Tobias continued arguing, regardless. <How many lives has _Enrich_ saved? How many races, even? They’ve stopped wars, and they’ve freed prisoners. Why? Did they have a vested interest when we took out that Yeerk base on Ooguui? When we disabled the Kelbrid Station?”

“Don’t be such a fool, Tobias!” Menderash blurted, standing up straight from his seated position. “I didn’t take you for somebody so naïve. Surote is a Yeerk, and Asaccah is a traitor! Of course they have vested interests in these vigilante missions!”

“And what about Ax?” Marco added. “They said they would help us find him. What have they done?”

I spoke up, “Co-ordinates. We have co-ordinates to The One’s main system.”

“A death trap,” Marco asserted. “I’m with Mendy. This is all one big game, and we’re the little sacrificial pawns in the middle.”

<So what’s this part of the game about?> Tobias questioned. <Telling us our friends are in danger? Why would Surote tell us that if he wanted us to _stay_ as his pawns?>

“Tobias is right,” I said quickly, barring anybody else from getting the first response. “If he wanted to keep us in tow, he wouldn’t tell us that. He’s kept his word to us, and he always has.”

“You are defending the indefensible,” Menderash accused. “I hate to say this, Jake, but it seems to me like you’re desperate to defend your own bad decision. This should never have happened. I believe that Jeanne Gerard was a plant throughout.”

Santorelli caught onto that, and said, “She did turn up just before Ax disappeared. Nobody in those morphing classes knew her.”

“She must have been ordered to bring us here,” Menderash suggested. “And to make it seem genuine.”

“Now you’re just speculating,” I said.

“That’s what we’ve been doing this whole time,” Marco replied.

Tobias fluttered his wings and finally came away from Menderash’s shoulder. He dropped down onto the cushiony floor, as far away from anybody else as it was reasonable to go. <So what? We abandon all of this? You realize what would happen if we just left, right?>

Marco responded glumly, “I don’t want to think about it.”

<Well, I believe what they’re telling us,> Tobias insisted. <I think they genuinely want to help. They _have been_ helping.>

It was the right moment, I thought, to add the other news to the conversation before somebody could counter Tobias’ point again. “Surote told me that the Andalite military has gone after Cassie. They threatened to arrest her if she didn’t reveal where we’d gone.”

That tugged on the room’s waning attention. “And?” Marco said.

I explained further. “Jeanne went with Cassie to the War Commander’s ship. She used _Enrich’s_ technology to steal documents to gain leverage. She’s holding the Andalites off.”

<You see?> Tobias said. <I can’t remember a time when they _haven’t_ tried to help us.

“It could all be a trick,” Menderash speculated. Of all of them, I knew he’d be the hardest to convince. He’d sat back down again, cross-legged on the bizarre pliable flooring, but his gaze hadn’t lost any intensity.

His point had been made more than once, and nothing Tobias or I could say would remove the doubts that we had. It would have to come down to compromise.

“We’ll speak to Cassie and Jeanne,” I told them. “We’ll tell them that they’re putting the others in danger. They’ll know how to go from there.”

Marco sighed roughly. “And what then?”

“We carry on.”

Menderash was the first to lay down his sword. “I will have no part in it.”

I thought it would come to that. I looked to Marco, who I assumed would be the next to decide. He shrugged and shook his head slowly in pained disappointment.

“I think you’re making the wrong call,” He said. “But what choice do I have now? Jake, what do I have to go back to? A shack in the middle of nowhere?”

“We can still save Ax,” I said.

<We can save more than just Ax,> Tobias altered. <We can do so much good here.>

Marco had gone past the tipping point with Tobias and was visibly losing his restraints. He pointed a shaking finger at the bird. “You may have lost all your humanity because you spent your time being Birdman, but I haven’t! Jesus, Tobias, this is Toby and Ronnie we’re talking about! Don’t you even care?!”

<You know I care,> Tobias replied without any sign of emotion. <But what if Toby or Ronnie find out? What if people find out about _Enrich?_ How many lives will be lost because these guys aren’t around anymore? Thousands? Millions? We’re willing to sacrifice all of them for two?>

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing, especially from you,” Marco uttered. “Toby would die for you twice over! She practically worships at your bird feet! And you’re happy to toss her aside just like that?”

<You think I’m happy about this? Isn’t that one of the most important things we’ve learned over these last few years: Personal sacrifice? We’re so glad to allow potential millions to die because of personal reasons. At what point do we become the bad guys?>

“You’ve lost it, man,” Marco said. “We aren’t the bad guys in this!”

I must have been the only one who agreed with Tobias on that point. I thought Marco was overreacting. Sure, the thought process was a cold one, but it was logical. And besides, I knew deep down that Cassie and Jeanne could buff their security. If Surote was genuine, then Jeanne had probably already been informed on what was going on.

“We need to remember that our ties with _Enrich_ end when we get Ax back. As soon as he’s safe, Surote has assured us that we can go. The whole point of us helping out is part of that trade. It’s not easy for them to just jump down there and save him. We need to offer them our time.”

“And our lives,” Menderash huffed.

“We have to trust them. We have no other choice,” I urged. “They gave us coordinates for Ax’s location, so it can’t be long before we take the next step.”

Santorelli broke his silence, sitting with a higher posture as a thought lodged itself into his head. “Hey, yeah, we got the co-ords, right? Why don’t we just say _fuck ‘em_ , take a transporter and get Ax ourselves?”

“Sounds like suicide,” Marco muttered. “But it’s looking like the best item on the menu. Pulling my brain out with a pair of tweezers is a close second.”

“We can’t just take a transporter…” I countered.

Marco responded, “We can ask, can’t we? If the Andalites had a crummy old tin can lying around, then I’m sure these guys would, too. Hopefully one with a stereo, this time.”

“And water that don’t taste like it just come outta the sewage pipes,” Santorelli added. 

I considered it, rubbing sweaty fingers against my sweatier forehead. “I could ask. Is that what you want?”

“Sounds good to me, boss!” Santorelli exclaimed with renewed vigor.

Marco was much less enthusiastic, but he nodded a silent _yes_.

Tobias’ face, of course, showed no indication of his thoughts. He took his time, but eventually said, <If Surote agrees to let us go, then I will.>

And that left Menderash. His head was dropped, but his eyes still held on mine. He looked angry. 

I had to pull an answer from him. “You used to call me your Prince,” I recalled.

“I stopped.”

“Yeah, I know. Would you still call Ax your Prince?”

He breathed in slowly, and finally took his gaze away. “Yes.”

So that was it. That was the compromise. Problem was, Surote probably wouldn’t agree to it. He was a resourceful person, and it was a mission with little chance of success.

If he said no, everything would come apart.

If he said yes, we would probably all soon be dead.

Either way, the _Animorphs_ were no more.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

I ate my lunch alone in the grand dining hall, after waiting until most people were gone to finally enter. I needed to think in peace, without the distractions of people talking to me and lending me their oh-so-helpful opinions.

What solution was there? What super glue could I pour into the cracks to hold everybody together? I found myself deep in a pit of grief, mourning my own naivety. I thought that I could go on without the silly errors that plagued me during and after the Yeerk War. Saying you’ve learned from your mistakes does not necessarily mean you’ve learned from your mistakes…

Perhaps I should have had more foresight. I should have been able to see the dangers that _Enrich_ brought. Bizarre aliens with grand intentions, riddled with spies and manipulation for some ultimate – and ultimately unreachable – goal.

Marco had been right all along. It was no wonder he was on the verge of mental collapse.

Menderash, too, had understandable frustration. I knew that, as soon as our goals were achieved, he’d be gone.

I had to consider who truly held their place because, for as long as we stayed tied to _Enrich,_ the trust would continue to dissolve. I had run the _Animorphs_ irreparably into the ground. Not only that, but I’d brought disgrace to the name.

All those books I read, and all those articles I scoured… My place in history would end up right where it deserved.

When I’d met all the dead ends, I returned to a half-eaten _Mugwar_ sandwich. It tasted like chicken.

My peace was interrupted. 

“Jake,” spoke Surote’s robotic voice.

I stiffened up. Our previous argument had left a sour taste in my mouth, despite our eventual, reluctant agreements. Nevertheless, I greeted him as warmly as I could as he came to the Human-sized table that was draped with white, silken fabric. His legs bent down with a little squeak, and he was only a little taller than me. This wasn’t to be a chastising or a lecture. He had approached with the friendliest tone.

“Surote,” I said back to him.

He wasn’t naïve enough to believe that smiling at me would ease any tension, so his face remained bland and calculating, but his words were assuring. “I wish to speak with you. Firstly, to apologize for my… overemotional response. I chastise myself for passion overriding the connection we share.”

“Likewise. But I don’t think you should apologize for passion.”

Now, it was the correct time for him to smile, “Yes, that’s right. Without passion, nothing of _Enrich_ would exist. However, like everything, it has a time and place. I brought you to our heart with the purest intentions. I should have known that the news would bring with it anger.”

“I meant what I said. I care a lot for Cassie, and so I care for people close to her. I hope that we can find some way to ensure their safety without compromising _Enrich_.”

He nodded. “We’re working on that. The Human you’ll know as Jeanne Gerard has been informed, and she is putting in place the extra precautions needed. She is very capable, and she is devoted. That is why she’s one of us.”

“She’s spying on Toby Hamee,” I suggested, probably more forwardly than I intended.

“No,” Surote replied. “She’s spying on Earth governments while maintaining ties to Cassie and you.”

“Ah. Killing two birds with one stone…”

Surote hummed with gentle amusement. “I would have chosen different words.”

“How much is your involvement putting my friends in danger?” I asked.

He took a moment to consider his answer. It was not something you blurt out nonchalantly. All the while, his bulbous, unblinking eyes gazed at me. “We work hard to ensure the safety of innocents. Our actions are weighted on positives and negatives. This route had the greatest positives.”

It was cold, hard, and logical. It was right, but it still felt wrong. “I think we need to have some further discussions on this.”

“We can do that,” he replied. “We can arrange something in a more private setting, away from listening ears. I understand that your friends are less than happy with what is happening.”

I chuckled humorlessly, dropping my eyes to the table. “As soon as we get Ax back, it’s over. Honestly, I don’t know where we go. Maybe the Andalites will pardon us for rescuing Ax. Maybe he can put a good word in for us, but I doubt it. I guess I’ll probably go back to the house in Yellowstone and… I don’t know…”

“This pessimism is not fit for a leader,” Surote mentioned.

“Maybe _I’m_ not fit for a leader.”

“Codswallop.”

I lifted my eyes back to him. I’d never heard anybody unironically use the word _codswallop_.

“You spend so much time judging your own decisions on their outcomes. Being a leader isn’t about the lottery of outcomes. Being a leader is about making choices and standing by them. It’s about working with what you have and appearing assured to your subordinates. Do your friends know where you stand?”

I thought about it, but I didn’t need long. “Yes.”

“You are a leader. You can’t control whether they wish to follow. You think there weren’t people who doubted me?”

“I can imagine there were some.”

He nodded mechanically. “When we approach individuals that we deem suitable, we don’t always get the desired reaction. We do what we can to bring them in slowly, one step at a time, but eventually, we must be open with them. Many come to our cause. Everybody you see on _Enrich_ chose to follow me. Some were very eager. Some took some extra convincing. Some… couldn’t be convinced. Not once did it make me question my direction. No matter what they said, I didn’t let them pull me from my path. I understand that some of your friends would like to take another direction.”

“You’ve been listening in on us,” I suggested.

“No. It’s easy to tell just from watching you in the open,” Surote said. “I’ve seen it all before. I worry that some of them are beyond reasoning.”

I shook my head in disagreement. “Nobody is beyond reasoning.”

Surote smiled and tapped the fingers of his right hand on the table’s surface. “Perhaps you’re right. I hope, for the sake of every living being, that you are. Now, are you ready for some news?”

A small compartment shot open from his side, similar to where a pocket on a pair of jeans would be. He reached inside and pulled out a bland, grey cube, and then he placed it on the table between us. I’d seen one before. It was a small projector, and it was used to replay intercepted messages.

“What is it?” I asked.

“It’s Ax,” Surote said.

“Ax…”

“Asaccah has returned to _Enrich_. While back on Andal, he intercepted a message sent out to Andalite radio frequencies. We are wary about it, but thought it might be something worth investigating.”

He reached forward and squeezed two sides of the cube with his metal digits. The holographic video emerged, but it was only about ten centimeters in height. 

Despite the size, I recognized the face immediately. 

There was Ax. In the bright blue of the image, I could see his fear. He looked like he’d aged a decade, and his nostrils were flaring with intense breathing. His stalk eyes flicked here and there, forever on alert, and his speech was stuttered and pensive.

His voice was tinny through the message. “This is Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, Prince aboard the late ship Intrepid… I’m… I was taken captive by a race called the Kelbrids… They… They have a sys-… a computer, some advanced technology. It’s called The One… It… It integrates people.”

I wondered what he was so afraid of. I focused and looked for any sign of what was putting him on such high alert. I saw nothing.

“I’ve escaped… A malfunction in the machine… I got away and took a transporter. The Kelbrids followed me, but I got away from the planet… They want war… the Kelbrids are after war… They’ll use The One to…”

He stopped. This time, he looked away with his main eyes, and not just his stalks. They came back, his paranoia apparently unjustified.

“I’ve landed on a moon. It’s… It’s somewhere on the wrong side of the _Gratt_ Border, a red rock approximately fifty _reytils_ in diameter… The Kelbrids followed me, but they have yet to locate my hideout… Co-ordinates are as… as follows:… 84-3192 by 211-3933… Please hurry…”

The transmission ended. I stared at Surote, who was awaiting my response. 

I asked him, “What are the chances that _The One_ would have such a malfunction?”

“Practically zero,” he replied.

“Do you think it’s a trap?”

He hummed. “There is certainly an incentive for gaining more Andalite hostages.”

“Is there a chance that this really could be Ax?”

He backed away, ever so slightly. “I will leave that decision to you. You have Team Hook at your disposal, as well as three transporters and an entourage of firearms. If this is a legitimate message, then you have very little time to make your decision.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

I felt like a messenger. I was continually moving from Surote to my friends and back again, carrying suggestions and orders and speculations. At first, I wondered why I was even needed to perform that role, but it quickly dawned on me that I was being tested, and not just by Surote. It was insulting, but at the same time, I knew that it was inevitable.

That mere fact was enough to tell me that I was failing. Surote was right when he talked about what truly made a leader. People had to know where I stood and why. The very fact that I was being watched closely for my actions proved to me that people didn’t know. I wasn’t stubborn enough in my decisions, and I took too much notice of what everybody else was thinking.

As a leader, you sometimes have to go with your gut, and to hell with doubt. I was tip-toeing around the most prevalent issues.

This time, I would show where my allegiance lay. The transmission from Ax would come as huge news, the biggest for a long time. Despite all the recent disagreements and dissolution, I knew that my friends would reunite for such a cause. I would have to take advantage of their determination.

Instead of inviting them to my cabin tp reveal the news, I decided to pass on a message beforehand. I wanted a better atmosphere from the moment they walked in through the door. I chose my messenger without hesitation.

Tobias swooped in as I opened up the thick silken curtain that hid me from the corridors. He circled the open space a couple times before settling down on a quilted stool. He looked picturesque against the almost Victorian background that Surote insisted my room become. (He deemed it among the most aesthetically pleasing themes, and so assumed that we all liked it, too. I wasn’t a great admirer of the burgundy walls, and 19th Century artifacts, but I appreciated the effort.)

The scruffy Red-Tailed Hawk fluttered his wings into their resting position and took an inquisitive glance into the mirror that hung above my mahogany desk. He turned away quickly like there was nothing about him worth contemplating.

<Hi Jake,> he uttered.

“Hi,” I said back, dropping the curtain back against the wall and moving to sit on the edge of my kingsize bed. I sank into the perfectly soft mattress. “We’ve got some big news, and I want to bring everybody in to talk about it.”

<Big news, huh? Why don’t you call everybody in? That’s what we usually do.>

I shrugged. “I’d rather have optimism sooner than later.”

<Optimism…> He repeated. <So it’s good news.>

“No. Not really. Well… sort of.”

He stared at me with the emotionless eyes of a bored hawk. <What is it?>

“Asaccah intercepted a transmission from Ax. We can’t tell if it’s genuine, but if it is, he’s escaped The One.”

He fell silent for a moment as the information was processed. Just like me, he was too cautious about leaping into a celebration. Either that, or he’d lost the ability to express joy.

<Can I see the transmission?> He asked.

“Yeah, I’ll show everybody when they’re here. It looks like Ax. Sounds like him, too.”

<When are we meeting?”>

“As soon as they can make it.”

He rustled his feathers and lifted the bulk of his body in preparation for flight. <I’ll find them now. We won’t be long. Could you get the curtain?>

I jumped up and pulled aside the obstacle. Tobias dropped from the stool with wings spread and swooped out of my cabin with urgency.

His reaction was positive, just as I expected. He was also quiet enough to spread it only to our group and in an emotionless, matter-of-fact way. I didn’t want any overreactions. After all, we both knew that it could be little more than a Kelbrid trap.

I waited in my cabin, confident that it wouldn’t be long before they started to trickle in. I didn’t have to wait long. Santorelli was first to arrive, and for the first time in a while, he was buzzing with energy and anticipation.

Menderash wasn’t the same. He still seemed cautious when he entered, barely exchanging words with either of us. Before I could force a conversation out of him, Marco arrived with Tobias clutched to his shoulder.

“Ax?” He asked breathily as soon as I welcomed him into my space.

“Yeah, Ax,” I replied. 

He was wide-eyed. Like Santorelli, it had given him an injection of energy. The overriding negatively that he’d harbored since arriving on _Enrich_ was suddenly gone as if the finish line was finally visible at the end of an eternal race.

Altogether, the atmosphere was mostly as I wanted: cautiously optimistic.

I took the message interceptor that Surote had lent me from my pocket and placed it on my wooden desk, in sight of everybody. I squeezed the sides, and out popped the shuddering, static-laden message.

The room watched in curious silence. Not a single eye diverted from the small blue hologram, and I knew that every mind was tugging at all of the little details. I replayed the message as soon as it finished the first time, and nobody felt the need to ask why.

Marco rubbed at his face when it ended again. Unlike Tobias, he had readable facial expressions. He bit his lip a lot, and his hands were restless, never quite settling and forever fiddling with his ungroomed facial hair.

Santorelli was the first to speak up. “I never knew the guy personally,” he mentioned. “So I don’t know if that’s, you know… how he talks or acts.”

Marco replied shakily, “That was Ax, alright.”

<Yeah. Sounds like him, moves like him…> Tobias uttered. <But we know from experience that that doesn’t mean anything.>

“What, you think he’s a Yeerk?” Santorelli asked.

I shook my head. “Wouldn’t make sense. The Kelbrids wouldn’t allow the Yeerks to take one of their most important hostages. Not after what went down at the border.”

“And the Yeerks no longer hold any power with which to make such a deal,” Menderash correctly added. “The Kelbrids would have no reason to let another rival race take a prized hostage.”

“I think we should discount Yeerks,” I said. “The real question is about The One.”

“We don’t know precisely what The One is capable of,” Menderash said.

“Exactly,” I responded. “We have a good idea from what Burr-Ammit has told us. It’s capable of producing accurate images of creatures it’s assimilated.”

“So, it could just be a fake.” Marco sighed, rubbing a hand through his long hair.

<It could also be genuine,> Tobias asserted.

“Anyway to tell, boss?” Santorelli asked. Of course, since I brought the news, I would be expected to have the best answers.

“I spoke to Burr-Ammit after Surote delivered the message. He said that The One can create clones of those it’s assimilated. He doesn’t know much more than that. He hasn’t got the permissions he needs to get all the details. It’s only accessible to their military.”

“Does _he_ think this is genuine?” Marco pressed.

I answered truthfully. “No. He thinks it’s a trap.”

The collective atmosphere dulled. However, I had to be brutally honest.

<He might not be right,> Tobias said.

“Way I see it,” Santorelli started, sitting back into a red velvet sofa against the back wall. “We’ll never know ‘till we get down there and find out.”

“We’d regret not going,” Marco said, and then followed, “Scratch that… We’d kill ourselves if we didn’t go. Even if it’s not him…”

<We need to try,> Tobias finished.

I nodded. “Ax would do the same for us. We’re here for Ax, and only Ax.”

There was quiet agreement amongst them. Even Menderash, who seemed appalled by each decision as they came, was showing no sign of dissent.

He said, “We would need a contingency plan, should it be a trap.”

Santorelli grinned. “I’m sure Surote will be offerin’ summa his big guns.”

“Nuh-uh. No way,” Marco uttered. “This is _our_ business. If this _is_ a trap, then I wouldn’t be surprised if Surote set it himself.”

<You really have no trust in the guy?> Tobias asked with a hint of disbelief.

“It’s the old clichéd double-cross,” He explained. “They do it in all the mystery movies, and sometimes the thrillers. There’s always that whole ‘ _it was me all along’_ bit. I should know because I was the guy that said it in _Space Monsters III._ ”

<You were in a movie called _Space Monsters III_?> Tobias asked.

“It was as good as it sounds,” Santorelli joked. “Monkey man here was the best actor.”

Menderash had grown frustrated with the tangent. “Could we talk about this serious matter? This isn’t a time for trivial discussion.”

“He has a point,” Santorelli said. “For all we know, this could be some double-crossin’ maneuver. Boss, did Surote say anythin’ about how we’re doin’ this?”

“I think it’s convenient that such a transmission fell so easily into that traitor Asaccah’s hands…” Menderash commented brusquely before I could answer the question.

“Asaccah works very closely with the Andalite military,” I defended. “It’s not beyond reason that he was shown the message. Besides, I thought we were all agreeing to chase this.”

He replied, “I suggest that we go with the assumption that something will go very wrong.”

I sighed with annoyance. I couldn’t hide it. “That’s why we’re here now. I wouldn’t go in without a backup plan. Sarge, to answer your question: Surote is offering Team Hook at our disposal and two transporters to get us to the moon Ax is on.”

Marco huffed. “I repeat, no way.”

“You think we should go alone?”

“Definitely,” he replied firmly.

<We’d need a pilot,> Tobias asserted. <Not unless we have another ship with controls as simple as the Mak ship had.>

“Not possible,” I said. “We don’t know how to operate ships with the technology we need to get there quickly. It’s a long way from here. Too long. No matter what we decide, we’ll need to take somebody with us.”

“Groof’s our guy,” said Santorelli. “A little fucked in the head, but at least we know him.”

Marco shrugged, a sign of indifferent acceptance. “He’s a nut, but I think he’s controllable. If he _does_ turn on us, I think we could take him.”

It sickened me a little to see such paranoia, but I’d come to expect it. In a way, it was good that they were on their toes. They were waiting for a shock and were braced to take it. 

“I’ll speak to Surote,” I said. “And ask that we take just the one transporter with Groof. He _offered_ us Team Hook, not ordered. After we’ve decided what to do, we’ll be able to sign out some weaponry from the depot. That moon is naturally deserted, and conditions are pretty harsh, but if Ax is there, we should expect Kelbrids.”

“And if he isn’t there, we should _still_ expect Kelbrids,” Marco added.

“Been a while since we had a good fight!” Santorelli called out, rubbing at his knuckles. “Them Kelbrids are expectin’ some snot-nosed Andalites.”

Marco chuckled half-heartedly. “They’ll be shaking in their boots when they see snot-nosed Humans instead.”

<And a snot-nosed hawk,> Tobias said.

“They’ll be even more scared when they realize that our noses actually are mucus-free,” Menderash added with unfamiliar lightness.

It was an attempt at a joke. It was unexpected. We laughed, and for the first time in a while, we _all_ did.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The butt of the weapon slammed against the counter. Eebing was never known for soft, subtle movement.

“Five,” spoke the alien. Hardly a semblance of emotion dragged across his red, kangaroo-like face.

I grabbed at the barrel of the gun he placed vertically in front of me, my hand curling just below his. It took him a moment before he released his grip and allowed me to freely control the silvery, gleaming weapon.

“Return,” he grunted with the hoarsest of voices.

“Don’t worry,” I replied. “I’ll return it.”

I made space for Marco, who was behind me in the short queue. One by one, we would take our weapons from the armory, and they would be ours for the duration of the mission. Eebing was very strict about their use, but most of all, their cleanliness. The red, tailless Kangaroo alien, dressed in baggy black rags, would eat alive anybody who returned a weapon with even the littlest speck of rust. Almost literally. (He was known for excessive salivation.)

“Six!” He huffed at Marco, thumping down the next shimmering gun.

“Let me guess,” He sighed. “Return?”

Eebing’s grip strained against the barrel, and he snarled. “Return,” he confirmed harshly.

Marco took the gun and moved aside for Menderash, who was next in line. He walked to me and shook his head with annoyance. “I hate that Eebing guy…”

“One of the only people around here not smiling all the time,” I uttered.

“Spose I can’t blame him too much,” Marco said. “If I crapped out of my mouth like he does, I wouldn’t smile much, either.”

I noticed a glance from Eebing in the distance. He grumbled and continued handing out the weaponry.

The stomping of metal turned our attention to Surote as he approached. He’d been inspecting our transportation with Groof. “Are you all up to date with your firearms training?”

“Yeah,” I replied, fastening a thin black strap to the base of the barrel and hoisting it over my shoulder. “Refreshed yesterday. All of us.”

Surote dipped his head to acknowledge. “You remember the purpose of this mission, and the precautions you must take?”

Marco responded, “Fly down there, grab Ax, fly back.”

Surote glared at him. Then, he spoke to me. “We will speak in private.”

“Sure,” I said. I shrugged to Marco, who hummed indifferently and took himself away, diverting the others as they approached. Surote guided me a little further from the armory with a guiding arm and stopped us when we were far from prying ears.

He spoke warily. I got a horrible memory of Dad when he would caution me for leaving my homework until the day before it was due. 

“I realize that your friends are reluctant to work with us, but you are heading into potentially dangerous territory,” He warned. “Your decision to proceed without Team Hook is… unfortunate. You are out there with our technology, our ship, and our secret. There’s only so much Groof can do if something goes wrong.”

“We’ve been through far more than you realize,” I said in our defense. “More than anybody in Team Hook. You don’t have much faith in us.”

He lifted his snout, taken aback. “I didn’t say that to offend you. However, your experience against the Yeerks will not compare to that gained by facing competent foes. The Kelbrids are no Yeerks. They are cunning, and they will set traps that not even our technology will trace. Complacency will get you killed.”

“They aren’t complacent,” I said. “They have coping mechanisms that only Humans understand.”

Surote chuckled, and the metal plates around his mouth curled up. “Humans are far beyond my comprehension. Just remember, Jake, that Groof can contact us from the transporter. We can be with you in very little time. I hope that you trust us enough to rely on us.”

“I do.”

“I wish I could say the same for your friends,” He muttered. Then, he looked over to them. They were standing outside of the armory, receiving a lecture from the irate Eebing. They’d done something to earn his wrath.

Surote added a subtle warning, hidden in vague, kind words. “Keep them safe. Do not let them stray.”

He knew them just as well as I did. I didn’t know how many methods he had of spying on our every movement and conversation, but I was damn sure that he’d studied us thoroughly. I resented it, but like many other things, I had gotten used to the compromises necessary to keep the peace. After all, it was for a good cause – I assumed.

I wasn’t naïve enough to think that we would escape their incisive gaze after our mission was complete. Every one of us was now a danger to Surote. We were all liabilities, secrets waiting to be spilled. He seemed to be laying enough trust in me, and I was sure that faith was kept with most of the others.

But I couldn’t help but watch Menderash with concern. I suddenly realized the danger he could be in. After we saved Ax, he would split off from the group fast. Where to, only he could know, but he’d shown clear disdain for _Enrich_ and its inhabitants. He still threw around the words betrayal and traitor like he truly meant them.

Could he ever be trusted to hold the Surote’s secret to himself? If not, then his death warrant was signed long ago. I felt sick to my stomach like I hadn’t been for quite some time.

I had to keep him closer. 

The tapping of Groof’s insectoid legs on the cold dock floor removed me from my contemplation. The flamboyant alien approached with his horrible claws snapping and his golden earrings jangling. “The ship is ready!”

Surote thanked Groof, and then shared a good luck message with me. “Remember,” he said lastly. “Call on us if there are issues. Do not put yourself in too much risk.”

“We’ll do what we can,” I assured him before he sluggishly left the extensive docking station. I was left with Groof and the others.

Eebing was complaining, as usual. He’d caught Marco holding his weapon by only the strap, and had decided it an excellent opportunity to give a stern lecture on safety. “Hold!” He yelped, gripping at the bulkiest section of the firearm for all to see.

“I get it, I get it,” Marco uttered. “I’m sorry, okay?”

Eebing gritted teeth that had no right to be as white as they appeared. “Death!” He snarled, then grabbing the gun by just the strap. It dangled loosely, slowly spinning from side to side.

“The guy knows how to make a point,” Santorelli commented.

The firearm was held firmly again and then thrust towards Menderash’s chest from where it had been borrowed. Menderash looked down at it, and then sullenly back at Eebing, before taking it back into his own grasp.

“Life,” Eebing said, letting loose his grip.

“Have we got the suits?” I asked of him.

His answer was to turn and head back into the armory, leaving us briefly alone. Weapons were slung firmly over backs.

“We all ready?” I said.

Marco nodded. “I’ve been ready for a long time. I can’t wait to be back home with my widescreen. Never thought I’d miss daytime TV as much as I do right now. I’d even watch reruns of _Shasta McNasty._ ”

“Damn…” Santorelli commented.

“I’d even watch a film starring that Marco Delvalle guy,” I said.

Marco huffed out a sardonic laugh. “Hey man, I was nominated for three Oscars.”

“Better get yer actin’ face on again,” Santorelli hushed. “Shit-streak is back.”

Eebing butted back into our group, dropping a pile of folded cloths onto the floor between us. “Wear.”

“You _wear_ clothes?!” Marco gasped insincerely. “Wow, I’ve gotten it wrong all these years!”

Eebing squared up to him, glaring down his nose and snorting. Marco didn’t even flinch.

“Wear…” He repeated.

Marco stepped aside from the grouchy alien and reached down to the pile. He pulled off the top item and held it out, checking for size. The one-piece, rubbery red outfit spilled down to the floor.

“Who’s the fattest here?” Marco joked, using his spare hand to pull the garment outwards, revealing its width.

“It’s called muscle,” Santorelli asserted with a grin, taking the outfit from Marco. “You wouldn’t know.”

Marco lifted up the next from the pile. It was much longer, with most of it still laid on the floor even when the collar was lifted to Marco’s shoulder height. “Tobias, I guess.”

Tobias’ green, bladed arm emerged between Santorelli and me and wrapped the suit within his sharp claws. He draped it over the strap of his gun, where it was held in place by the small shoulder blade. I wondered how a suit could ever possibly made with a Hork-Bajir in mind, but _Enrich_ was capable of far more than my simple Human brain could comprehend.

We took some time to bring ourselves into the right mental state for a rescue mission and get into our suits. Tobias demorphed, preferring to allow himself the full four hours of morph time, should he have needed it. The banter between us dulled as the seriousness crept in, and our stances grew stiff and formal. I was satisfied.

In less than an hour, we could be reunited with the one we had spent so much time trying to save. Everything we’d done and all the reputations we’d destroyed had been working to this hour. That realization was coming down on us all, and it showed on stony faces.

Groof welcomed us into the small transporter vessel. I thought back to all we’d been offered. We could’ve had multiple stealth ships, armed to the teeth and with a unit specifically trained for high-pressure, dangerous rescue missions ready to spill out. We could have been an unstoppable force.

But instead, we had Groof and his glorified taxi cab.

Then again, we’d come to be renowned as a kind of bad luck charm for Team Hook. Perhaps it was for the best that we were leaving them behind.

It meant, however, that we would have no immediate back-up. If we were struck down, we could very well be dead.

But since when did that ever stop us?

“Make yourselves comfortable!” Groof chirped as we rose up through the entrance to the ship’s main compartment.

“Thanks, Groof,” I said, hunching down into a corner, out of the way for the others to emerge. Once Marco had risen inside with Tobias on his shoulder, and the hole in the deck closed up with a swoop, Groof began to prepare for us to enter the cold emptiness of Space. The ship was capable of instant transmission, able to bypass the constraints of Space-Time… or something like that. It meant that the only traveling time came from escaping the artificial atmosphere of _Enrich_ and entering the natural atmosphere of the moon we were landing on.

“About thirteen minutes,” Groof estimated when I asked for the amount of time it would take before we landed at Ax’s coordinates.

“Thirteen minutes…” I hummed. 

Marco looked to me. “If Ax has stayed put…”

I nodded. “We could be done before lunch.”

<Then what?>

Tobias received no answer. Nobody really had one.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The moon ascended into the open view of our ship. It was a turgid brown, with little sign of anything other than death and emptiness. It was a desert, coated in mountainous craters from a series of meteor strikes in the not-too-distant past. Groof explained that it was once teeming with life and greenery. Now, though, it was a husk. Any life that used to dwell there had disappeared long ago.

We expected, however, some kind of presence. As we zapped into that area of Space-Time, it was assumed that there would be some sign of activity, at the very least from a Kelbrid scouting force. From Ax’s message, it was clear that he thought he was being followed. Judging from the fact that he was a highly influential prisoner, we felt that the Kelbrids would have swarmed the planet. 

We saw nothing. Not even Groof’s powerful radars were able to detect a Kelbrid vessel. The place was utterly abandoned.

I was the view from beside him, getting as much information as I could from his experience. “Maybe they already found him,” I suggested glumly.

“That’s possible,” Groof replied. “Though we could just be very early!”

“Which means that we don’t have much time,” I assessed. “The Kelbrids could get here anytime. The Andalites, too.”

“Do you think the Andalites will come?” Groof asked.

I paused to think. Putting myself into the mind of the Andalite military was always tricky. “Yes. I think they would send a small scouting fleet. Nothing more. They’ll be doing something similar to us.”

“We shall win this race!” he cackled. “Which is funny, because Humans tend to be the slowest of the three races!”

He laughed. I walked away from the cockpit and back to the others, who were standing in waiting, weapons slung over their shoulders and protective clothing. Tobias had morphed back into his Hork-Bajir and had adorned his own clothing. Holes fit snugly around the base of each of his blades. Even his weapon was made with large, menacing claws in mind.

“This is it,” I spoke to them all. “Remember to say nothing about _Enrich_ until we know it’s really Ax. If this is some kinda clone, anything we tell him could end up with the Kelbrids. Groof will morph Andalite, just in case Ax ends up in the ship.”

“We’re gonna see Andalite Groof?” Santorelli muttered. “God help us all…”

“He’s going to keep the ship invisible when we land. We give nothing away.”

Marco cocked his head quizzically. “What if there’s no way to tell if it’s the real Ax or not?”

“We’ll take him prisoner,” I answered. “I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

Groof called back from the cockpit excitedly. “Entering atmosphere! It’s dry as corpses out there!”

“I hate that saying…” Marco groaned. “I thought Humans were the bleak ones. Couldn’t have been more wrong.”

We moved as a group back towards Groof. He was observing the barren landscape that was emerging from a lining of thin, wispy clouds. The oranges and browns of dry, dusty rock were all that could be seen from so high up.

“This makes the Mak planet look like the Amazon rainforest,” Marco said, succinctly catching everybody’s thoughts.

“The meteor strikes were nasty,” Groof explained. “Nothing was left alive. Some plant life is starting to come back, but the ground is so dry that it’s all microscopic.”

“We have enough water on board for a week,” I said. “If we _do_ find Ax, he’ll probably need water.”

Marco chuckled bitterly. “Funny, isn’t it? First time we found him, he probably wished he’d never see water again.”

“At least, back then, he had a Dome Ship to keep him safe,” I said.

Groof continued to gently lower the ship down towards the ground. All the while, he was scanning the horizon for possible signs of life, or somewhere to hide. The images we received from the planet, illuminated on a 3D screen to the side of the cockpit, showed a graveyard of dead tree husks, sprouting up from the ground like wicked fingers. A dusty mist coated the ground, swirling around the crisped trunks of life lost long ago. It was truly haunting.

“We’re in the right vicinity,” Groof spoke. “If he was giving the right coordinates.”

Tobias responded from his isolated pocket by the far wall, where nobody could get snagged on his blades. <We can trust Ax to get that right. He’ll be here somewhere.>

“Look for any holes or abnormal patterns in the ground,” Menderash suggested. “Maybe a pile of rocks or felled trees.”

“Wouldn’t he have a ship?” Santorelli asked.

“Yeah,” Marco said. “But he wouldn’t be stupid enough to stay beside it. If he knew the Kelbrids were after him, he would have abandoned it. He would have taken essential tools and found somewhere far away to hide.”

We studied every detail of the terrain, leaning over the image and squinting for any sign of disturbed ground or piled rocks. Eventually, we found something. Santorelli jabbed a thick finger toward a point on the picture, distinguished by a dense collection of trees. As I looked closer, I saw the telltale signs of a raised ridge and a gap beneath. It was wide enough to crawl inside. It was the only thing we had to go on.

“Groof!” I called. I read to him to directions that the chart gave. “Twelve degrees westward… six-point-three Ecklengths ahead.”

“Twelve westward, six-point-three ahead. Off we go!” Groof called out. “That’s quite a distance, especially for Humans with their bipedal gait!”

The minute details of the location became clearer as Groof took us closer. As it did, I became more certain. It fell within the correct coordinates, was well hidden at ground level, and it looked as if the gap was anything but shallow. If I were stranded in this area, I would have gone there, no question.

“Descending,” Groof announced, and we felt the ship decelerating. “I’ve hidden the ship from view. Nobody will see a thing!”

I looked everybody in the eye, one-by-one. They all stared back. “Ready?”

They confirmed that they were. I rotated my weapon forward and held the warm rubber shell of the handle in my fingers. “Be on guard. It might not be Ax out there.”

There came a bump as Groof’s transporter bounced on solid, rocky ground. The whirring noises of advanced machinery went from a whisper to a breath. He took a moment to scan a monitor. “… The atmosphere is breathable for Humans and Hork-Bajir, despite the minuscule range of conditions you’re capable of living in!”

He laughed at his own joke, but nobody else was in a joking mood. We waited for the hatch to open at the back of the main compartment, and when it did, the stench of a dead planet was swept up inside. It didn’t smell bad… but it wasn’t a pleasant scent by any means. It was dry, dense, and somewhat sulphuric. It had the odor of a chemistry project gone wrong.

When Groof started to morph into an Andalite form, I felt it best to leap into the unknown. I nodded to Santorelli, who showed no hesitation in volunteering to head down first. He stepped onto the glowing white of the hatch, and he slowly began to drop through. He held his gleaming rifle to his chest and smiled with well-earned confidence.

“Last one out buys the first McDonalds when we get back!” he called before his head vanished beneath the deck of the ship.

We gave it a few seconds, listening for any signs of something wrong. We heard nothing.

I called back to Groof, “Is he okay out there?”

“He’s acting normal, which is unusual for Humans!” he called back.

“Not wrong there,” Marco commented.

“Okay,” I said. “Let’s go.”

I followed Santorelli out. He was waiting patiently outside, just left of the ship, which had been cloaked. There was a gentle warmth from it, but there was minimal sound and not a hint of something physical there at all. If I hadn’t known where the ship was, I could easily have bumped into the hull and injured myself.

From ground level, the planet’s surface was no more pleasant. The cloud of dust that hung against the surface came up over my knees so that I could hardly see my feet. All around the ship, and protruding from the sluggish carpet of dust like decrepit hands, were lifeless trees. That bore no leaves of fruits, and just by looking, it was easy to tell that they were far past rotten. Their surfaces were dry and wrinkled. The branches shot outward but hung down at the tips like claws. The horizon was a wall of them, blended into a prickly black streak.

The stench was inescapable and thick. It was like a terrible itch that couldn’t be scratched. I rubbed at my nose and instinctively covered my face with my arm, breathing against the fabric of my radiation-proof suit. Santorelli didn’t seem as disturbed. Tobias looked as if he couldn’t wait to morph back to bird, a grimace etched permanently oft-unreadable Hork-Bajir face.

About a hundred meters away, I could make out the silhouette of rocks that formed the opening of the cave. If Ax was anywhere, he’d be there.

The hatch of Groof’s transporter closed, disappearing to nothing, just as the rest of it had.

<The area is clear!> Groof called through thought-speak. <Do you mind testing our range when you’re at the location?>

I nodded to Tobias, who replied, <Sure.>

We trod carefully over the terrain. It was rocky underfoot, made much more difficult by the thick cloud of dust. Every step was uncertain. The dead trees around us creaked in the ever-present breeze, providing the only accompanying sound to the crumbling ground beneath our soles.

Menderash was the first to mention what we were all thinking. “He would have incredible difficulty walking in the terrain if he didn’t use a morph. It would have taken him days.”

Marco replied, “Pretty sure he would have flown. His ship could be half the moon away. I bet even he wouldn’t be able to find it again.”

“Jake, you mentioned that the message was intercepted three days ago,” Menderash continued. “The Kelbrids wouldn’t have been far behind him. For a prisoner of his caliber, they would have torn the planet to shreds looking for him… I find it hard to believe that there’s no sign of them.”

It hadn’t escaped my attention, and he was right. It was hard to get my head around, without immediately jumping to the conclusion that it was some sort of trap. It was too easy, but surely even the Kelbrids would know that. They knew that the Andalites weren’t so stupid to fall for such an obvious trap… so why was it so obvious? Was it some cruel double-bluff? Maybe the Kelbrids had somehow lost such a high-profile target. That last option was entirely implausible.

We came into a dense patch of the dead trees before we located what we presumed to be a cavern. It cast us into darkness, partially hidden from the orange sun. The rocks that bordered the cavern were no less victims to the vicious contrasting zebra-stripes, but the entrance remained a shroud of black.

Tobias, who hadn’t struggled on foot nearly as much as the rest of us, reached it first. He dipped his snake head in cautiously and squinted his eyes to see. <I can’t see very well,> he admitted.

It was down to Santorelli again to take the initiative, and he did so gladly. “Goes down,” he stated. “And it’s fuckin’ cold. Don’t get much sun.”

I came beside him and gazed in. “Seems to go down a long way.”

Santorelli reached forward beneath the rim of rock that stretched up above us. He pressed a hand to the black surface and gave a light gasp of surprise. He looked to me. “Metal.”

Marco chimed in, “D’ya think Ax was lucky enough to find an underground bunker?”

I shrugged. “The race that used to live here were intelligent. Intelligent enough to build structures. This might go down further than we thought. I could be a massive complex.”

“Stickin’ to the plan, boss?” Santorelli asked.

I gave it a quick thought, but there was nothing to divert away from what we’d decided. “Yeah. Tobias, can we still hear Groof?”

<Groof?!> he called openly. <Still hear us?>

<Yes! Quietly, but definitely!> he replied happily.

I was content that nothing had appeared on radar. Despite his joking, flamboyant nature, Groof never struck me as anything other than professional. As soon as he saw something, we’d hear of it.

“Okay, now we call for him. We don’t go down as a group,” I insisted.

Menderash stepped forward. “Would you like me to call for him? He may find comfort in somebody of his own.”

I glanced at him, taking my attention briefly away from the darkness of the cavern. “Did he ever call you his _shorm_?”

He cocked his head, unsurely. “No…”

“Tobias,” I said, “Call for Ax. Let him know it’s us.”

The Hork-Bajir stared again into the darkness. <Ax? It’s me, Tobias. Are you in there?>

Nothing. No response at all. An air of defeat came unwelcomed to us all. I knew that they were all looking at me.

“Let’s hope the complex is as massive as they come,” I said hopefully. “We’ll split up. Tobias, Sarge, come down with me. Marco and Mendy will stay here. Be on standby for when things go wrong.”

“Right,” Marco said. “We’ll be ready. I was always the best aim.” He bounced his weapon in his hands.

“Come down on my call,” I instructed. “We’ll try to head back here if something happens. If we can’t make it back, tell Groof to bring reinforcement.”

Santorelli sidled next to me and slapped me firmly on the back. “Right, boss, you ‘bout ready to save some centaur ass?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Sure am.”

We activated powerful flashlights on tight breast pockets and shone them into the deep. It revealed before us a flight of steps that were much smaller than the average Human was used to. Each step must have been only five inches in height and width. It was an awkward size to deal with, too short for a foot and too long to form a suitable ramp. 

We had to side-step down. Tobias led the way, holding his weapon forward with his personal flashlight tied to the barrel. Not that it was much help, as the layer of dust that was up to our knees at the surface filled the underground air. The atmosphere was a cloud of particles, and it made breathing more difficult than I’d have hoped.

<Ax? It’s Tobias.>

He called every minute or so as we trudged down into the bunker, barely able to see more than a meter ahead of us and our firearms poised for an ambush. Menderash would occasionally call down to be assured that we were still in reach, but it would only go so far. Soon, we would have to consider alternative methods or the possibility that we were too late.

The staircase emerged into a cold, empty room. The walls remained black and metal, and the dust refused to disperse. We must have descended about twenty meters, and despite the space that we were permitted, it felt incredibly claustrophobic. I was struggling to take full breaths, and all I could see were the whitened forms of Santorelli and Tobias stepping warily ahead of me, emblazoned in the blur of my flashlight.

If Ax was truly down here… I couldn’t imagine how he would endure. 

<Ax, if you’re here, please answer.>

We shuffled through a triangular doorway into a room no different than the last. Then another, and another.

<Mendy? Can you still hear me?>

His voice came back faintly. <Yes, I can still hear.>

We found more stairs leading downwards. We wouldn’t have long left before we would have to turn back, but I was beginning to realize that the chances of an ambush were slimming. If the Kelbrids had laid a trap, it surely wouldn’t be hidden so far down in apparent nothingness. My mind was spinning with so many questions, points, and counter-points…

We emerged onto the next floor down, and into another identical shell of a room.

<Ax? This is Tobias. If you’re he->

<Tobias…> replied a weak voice. <Is… Is that really you?>


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

<It’s him…> Tobias gasped.

After experiencing my own brief second of disbelief, I shook myself back to my senses and made a quick plan. “Okay, Tobias, I know that I said that we shouldn’t split up, but I need you to stay here. Sarge and I will go grab him and bring him back here.”

The massive Hork-Bajir cocked his head down at me. <Can’t we just let Marco and Mendy come inside? Just enough to keep us in range?>

“No,” I insisted. “I don’t want them in this place at all.”

Ax’s voice came again. <Tobias?>

“He sounds pretty close,” I said. Then, I reiterated my plan to Tobias. “You stay here. Keep your back to the wall, and keep in contact with the others. Tell them what we’re doing.”

Tobias seemed unsure, but he stood back dutifully, pressing his tail against the nearest wall.

“How we gonna find him, boss?” Santorelli wisely asked.

“Tobias?”

<Hey, Ax-man, we’re trying to find you. Can you give us a clue? Every room looks the same in here.>

His response came slowly. I was concerned that he’d been suffering through days of dehydration and claustrophobia. He didn’t sound well. <I… I set up in a room… It’s three floors beneath the ground. I’ve activated lamps.>

<Thanks,> Tobias replied. <That should be enough. Jake is coming to get you.>

“Sure am,” I uttered. “Tell Mendy what we’re doing. Sarge, ready?”

“Readier than a fat man at a buffet table!” He responded eagerly.

“Let’s go.”

We left Tobias behind while he told the others what was going on. Ax had given us enough clues to know what we were looking for. First thing was to find the next floor down.

Santorelli led the way, weapon hoisted readily in front. I kept eyes on our rear as we increased the gap between Tobias and us. I was still very wary of a potential ambush, but I couldn’t help but grow more and more excited at the thought that we’d finally done what we’d set out to do…

We found the next set of steps after moving through three more long, empty rooms. Still no sign of any Kelbrid. Only our echoed boot steps and strained breathing came to our ears. When we hit the steps, we carefully descended.

<I can hear you… You’re getting closer.>

It was a huge relief. Ax was still talking, and if he genuinely could hear us, we couldn’t have been far at all. Indeed, when we reached the end of the stairs and entered another bland, dark room, there was something new in the distance. There was a white, dull glow coming from the next place over, faint but noticeable through the haze of dust.

We went from slow, deliberate steps to a jog, and squeezed through the doorway and into the glow. Suddenly, the dust cloud thinned, though it didn’t disappear entirely. We saw and heard some type of fan. It was like the ones you get in hot, stuffy offices: a circular object with blades whirring within to thrust air forward. It had a distinctive Andalite shape, devoid of angles with a clean matte surface. Below it, and sheltered by the breeze it gifted, was a felled Andalite, colored orange in the mix of light and dust that was deeply weaved into his hair.

His head raised up slightly, and two stalk eyes swiveled to see. <Jake?>

I flung my weapon around to rest on my back and knelt down beside him. He looked starved and dehydrated. When I ran a hand through the fur on his shoulder, a sprinkling of dust poured into the air.

“It’s me, Ax,” I spoke to him. “Need some help?”

<Help would be… much appreciated…> He said weakly.

“Come on, Sarge,” I said, squatting down and grabbing at Ax’s side. “Andalites aren’t light!”

“I got the tail-end!” He called back, shuffling behind me.

Together, on the count of three, we hoisted Ax upwards. Starving or not, Andalites were far from the lightest creatures, and I winced at the pressure on my back. He wrapped his arms around my chest, and I bored his weight on my legs. “Got him?”

“Sure do. Let’s get him outta here!”

It was a struggle, and my movement was clumsy and sluggish as we headed back into the dark. With Santorelli, though, most of the weight was handily taken care of, and he uttered motivational phrases to me as we huffed and puffed back towards the steps. 

“Tobias?!” I called.

<Jake? What is it?>

I shouted back, “We’ve got him! Come help carry him!”

I thought it okay for him to briefly leave thought-speak range, and it wasn’t long before we were confronted by the monstrous form of a Hork-Bajir barrelling down the stairs toward us. We’d muscled halfway up, and I was massively relieved when Tobias wrapped his vast arms beneath Ax and took all the weight for himself. It was like carrying a feather for him.

Before we knew it, the blackness of the bunker was swept back at the behest of the light-brown skies of the dead moon. Menderash and Marco jumped aside to make room for the Hork-Bajir cradling a dust-coated Andalite in his arms. He thought for a moment to put Ax down, but upon recalling the thickness and depth of the dust cloud that settled on the ground, he looked for somewhere else.

In the end, the only place we could place him was on the rocks that formed the entrance to the bunker. He convulsed when he was laid down, and particles of dirt sneezed from his nostrils. Marco had thought ahead and prepared some water. He had one large jug of warmed water and a smaller one with cold. The little jug’s opening was large enough for Ax to maneuver a forehoof inside, and his main eyes closed in thankfulness as he took what must have been his first sip of fluid for days.

I couldn’t let sentiment and emotion take hold. Sure, we seemed to have Ax, but the job was not done. Not nearly. I quietly spoke Marco and Menderash’s names and walked a little further away, towards a patch of trees where Ax couldn’t hear. They followed curiously.

I spoke quietly but firmly. “We can’t let our emotions get in the way here,” I urged. “We’re not in the clear.”

“That’s Ax,” Menderash replied. “Even in his state, I’ve no doubt about it.”

Marco was a bit more cautious. I was always aware that Menderash’s pride in his own race would override his rationality. _If Andalite couldn’t make perfect clones, nobody could_. Such arrogance wouldn’t fly with me.

“This could still be a trap. You won’t reveal yourself yet. Until I say so, you’re still Eddy Jameson. Got it? If that Andalite there turns to out to some kind of trap, he’s after Andalites. He’s not after Humans.”

Menderash considered that. Then, he said, “Groof has morphed Andalite…”

“Yeah, I know,” I said. “A disgraced Andalite. An Andalite not worthy of being saved.”

He stared at me with unusually sad eyes. “I, too, am a disgrace.”

I didn’t quite know how to respond. I exhaled with a sigh and rubbed at my cheek, retrieving my hand to find it smeared with dirt. “Marco, we need to start questioning him once he’s thinking clearly. Keep him watered, wash him down. We’ll head back into the bunker and search through the room we found him in. Maybe we’ll find something.”

“What about the ship?” he asked.

“He doesn’t need to know about the ship yet,” I said. “Let’s get the basics out of the way. Record everything he says.”

“Think this could really be him?” Marco asked.

“Right now, our opinions don’t matter,” I informed. “We operate under the assumption that this is a trap. Get as much information as you can, and don’t take your eyes off of him. Keep your weapons secure.”

“Are you taking Tobias back down there with you?”

Marco had thought of that quicker than I had. “Sarge and I will go down. Keep Tobias here, and keep him next to Ax.”

“Got it,” Marco confirmed.

We turned to head back towards Ax, who was still taking steady sips of water. I asked Marco to find him something more comfortable to lie on, and he went for the ship. It was far enough that Ax would struggle to see anything, let alone any detail.

Before we got back to the rocks, I spoke to Menderash privately. He needed my backing. “You aren’t a disgrace here, Mendy. Nor are you at home.”

Then he stopped me. The back of his hand came in front of my chest. I swiveled so that I was pointed back away from Ax, ready to talk about whatever he’d stopped me for.

He looked regretful, and though his eyes met mine, I could tell that they were itching to divert. “I never told you what happened on Intrepid,” he said.

“Not fully…” I agreed.

He paused to formulate his words. “I am a disgrace, Jake. Prince Aximili would tell you just the same. I have no reason to hide my identity because no right-thinking Andalite would come to rescue me if I fell afoul of the Kelbrids.”

“Are you sure about that?” I asked.

“Yes, I am.”

I believed him, but his words also worried me. He was convinced of some guilt that he harbored and that Ax would also place that blame on his shoulders. The thought of some kind of conflict between them crossed my mind. However, Ax was in no good state to start a fight. I wouldn’t let him, either way.

“Okay,” I nodded. “Just keep everything else to yourself. This still may not be Ax.”

“Understood, Jake.”

Santorelli had taken Ax’s water away, preferring for him to take sips rather than excessive gulps, and by now, the Andalite seemed more alert, his head was lifted away from the rocks to look around at his rescuers. He was communicating fluently, too. He would be able to recover quickly, with the right care, and already had started to wash out his fur with handfuls of the warmer water, revealing his natural blue hair.

<Thank you…> He gasped. <Thank you so much. I didn’t know if anybody would come!>

“You thought we’d leave you?” I said. “Come on, you know us better than that.”

<I’m so grateful to see you again, Jake…> He spoke happily. <And you, Tobias, my friend.>

<Good to see you, too, Ax-man,> Tobias replied.

<And…> Ax started, looking from Santorelli to Menderash and back again.

Santorelli introduced himself first with a grin. “Sergeant Colin Santorelli, US Ranger and blue centaur rescue extraordinaire!” He stuck out a hand and, familiar with the process, Ax shook it.

<Ah, a military Human!> he chirped. <I have fought with the US military before.>

“And I fought with an Andalite before,” Santorelli added. “I was in Fort Irwin durin’ the Secret War.”

<I’ve heard a lot about that one,> Ax hummed. <And your name is vaguely familiar…>

Santorelli chuckled. “My name ain’t shit. It’s the badges I wear that make me proud.”

Ax’s main eyes went to Menderash next, who was stood like a statue beside me. His lips were shut like they were clamped in a vice, and his fists were sweaty and balled up. Instinctively, I glanced at Tobias, who saw my expression and placed a ready hand to the rock he was leaning against. He wouldn’t know why the tension was growing, but he wasn’t going to naively push it aside as nothing.

<What’s your name?> As asked him sincerely. Even he, though, was noticing Menderash’s unusual behavior.

His eyes widened when Menderash bowed a distinctive Andalite bow. Menderash held it, face shamefully toward the ground.

“Prince Aximili, this is First Officer Menderash-Postill-Fastill.”

Ax stuttered in disbelief. <N-no you’re not. You’re a Human…>

“A Human _nothlit_ , sir.”

Ax started to get up, but he was shaky. Tobias looked ready to help him back down and tell him to stay, but I flattened out my hand to him as an order to allow it. Ax almost fell back but was soon able to steady himself on four shaky, dainty legs. He stepped cautiously down the rocks, his stalk eyes placing his steps while his main eyes were locked unmoving from his target. He stopped before Menderash, who was still in the bowing position. I moved between them and to the side, ready to split any conflict.

<You called me a stubborn, stupid child…> Ax growled.

“I did, sir.”

<And proceeded to abandon me on _Intrepid_. Menderash-Postill-Fastill, you are a coward, and a disgrace.>

I expected an _I told you so_ look, but I didn’t get one. Menderash was frozen in place. 

“I am, sir.”

He was right. The fears of Menderash potentially being used as a hostage were gone, but that didn’t make me any happier. Seeing him so lowly and pathetic was hard.

<You took the only escape pod,> Ax accused. <You saw me coming, and yet you _still_ shut the doors.>

“Wait a minute…” Santorelli butted in. “We never heard this before.”

Menderash ignored him. “My Prince, I was wrong, and I was a coward. I became a Human _nothlit_ so that I could find you in Kelbrid Space.”

Ax stood firm, more authoritative than I’d ever seen him before, despite his condition. <I’ll see to it that you are removed from your rank. You abandoned your duty and your crew.>

Marco arrived, holding a large green fold-out bed. I took a moment to divert the conversation. “Great job, Marco. Ax, you need to lie down.”

The bed was unfolded and placed securely on the ground to form a cushioned, flat surface above the layer of dust cloud. Ax reluctantly stepped away from Menderash, and Tobias rushed over to help him onto the bed.

I had a change of mind. “Sarge, we’ll head back in and grab what we need out of his room.”

“Gotcha, boss!”

I pulled Mendy out of his sorrowful bow by the shoulder. “You’re coming, too.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

We re-entered the old abandoned bunker, dropping portable lighting fixtures along the way, like breadcrumbs through a dark, haunting forest. At the end of the journey was the room we’d pulled Ax from, now without its suffering occupant. We lit it up brighter, and it was quickly illuminated enough to search without issue. It was as big as all the others we’d walked through, and it occurred that, whoever the dominant race on the moon were, they must have been the most bland to ever exist. I could have been wrong, but it was a thought that would be hard to dislodge.

Inevitably, Menderash was then the victim of a forceless interrogation, just as we assumed Ax would be above ground. Before we started the actual search, I decided to begin, because the ideas that boggled my mind would no doubt diminish my clue-finding senses.

“Mendy, you going to tell us what happened on _Intrepid_?” I insisted.

He glanced at me reluctantly. Maybe he’d hoped that I’d just ignore it. He didn’t know me well. “You never wanted to know before?”

“Sorta seems pertinent now,” I said.

“Sounds like somethin’ went down that you ain’t proud of,” Santorelli added assertively, leaning against a wall and waving dust away from his face.

Menderash scowled irritably. “Why do you think I would force myself into the Human body? Why would I do it if it weren’t for guilt?”

“Loyalty to your Prince,” I suggested. “Duty.”

“No,” he replied. “Maybe there’s some loyalty behind it, but no. I did it because I hated the thought of being the coward who killed his Prince.”

I grabbed at my hair in frustration, but restraint the others aspects of the anger I felt at that moment. I kept my voice low and monotonous. “What happened on that ship? What did you do?”

“When The One attacked the ship, it overloaded the most essential systems. I was on the bridge, and all at once before me, the crew guiding the ship were killed. Electrocuted. It was like the ship itself was coming alive, because, at any moment, something would blow, or something would move. Everything on board was trying to kill us.”

I tried to picture it in my mind. I saw Andalite crewmembers scurrying through darkened corridors. I imagined streams of hot compressed air bursting onto passers-by, and I saw grass purification robots barging into and breaking ankles... All-in-all, it was a bizarre scene, and equally scary.

Menderash continued, “Within minutes, most of the crew were dead. There were bodies on the floors. It seemed to move through the ship like a virus: not entirely taking everything at once, but spreading. I remember standing in one hall, and seeing it… approaching. Static items on the walls would start to shake, and the artificial Suns would dim, one-by-one. It was coming for me like it was coming for everybody else… so I ran aft.

“I knew the ship was gone. I’d been on _Intrepid_ for most of my career, so I knew it inside-out. Prince Aximili did not. He thought he could save _Intrepid_. He tried to send an _Aristh_ into the command center to activate backup generators. I stopped the _Aristh_ and told him to follow me. I suppose, in a way, it was insubordination, but… I didn’t know whether to disobey command or commit my crew to suicide. I told Prince Aximili… I told him that the ship was lost. I told him to head for the escape pods aft of the ship.”

Santorelli asked, “And did he?”

“No. He wouldn’t listen to me, and he took the remaining crew. There were five… no, six. They donned insulating protection and tried to take back the bridge. I couldn’t convince them to escape, but I couldn’t go with them. I thought it was stupid to be killed so needlessly. I went aft to the escape pods and began to program an escape route for the only active pod at the dock. When I stepped inside, I saw Prince Aximili entering the dock… he’d lost all the remaining crew, and he was running. The virus was chasing him. It was like the dock was trying to eat him. I… I didn’t know if he’d get to the pod and not bring us both down.”

“So you shut him out…” I concluded.

He glanced down regretfully. “I can’t say that my resentment for his decisions didn’t… influence mine.”

I felt cold. In a way, I understood why Menderash would keep such an account to himself. It was an admittance of guilt. Of insubordination, cowardice, and an act that could easily be described as manslaughter. Part of me felt so agitated as to want to lash out. I looked at Santorelli, who looked a little more ambiguous. Perhaps my close ties to Ax were pushing me a little harder into unwanted emotions.

Menderash added, following a silent pause, “I have to redeem myself for decisions I would not make again.”

I nodded lightly. It was all I could do. In the end, Menderash was doing all that _he_ could do. Sure, he’d made a split-second decision that was wrong and vindictive, but I, too, had made bad calls in the past. He’d made a great sacrifice to make up for his mistakes. He’d given up his own body. What more could be asked?

That thought process calmed me. “Okay. Now we know,” I said.

“You better hope he’s doesn’t chop your nuts off,” Santorelli warned.

“Alright, alright,” I sighed, raising a palm to Santorelli. “We’re here for a reason. The past is done. We still have to find out what we’re dealing with here.”

Santorelli started to inspect the lamp that Ax had been using. It was dim in comparison to ours, and it was flickering defiantly. “Think he’s suspicious?” he asked me.

“Yeah,” I admitted. “Yeah, he is. For one thing, there aren’t any Kelbrids around. Remember the message? He was acting like they were practically banging on his front door.”

“Yeah, I remember,” Santorelli replied.

“It could be explained. The Kelbrids held Ax hostage for at least one year,” Menderash spoke. “Who knows what kind of mental torment they put him through. He could be on the threshold of psychosis. Perhaps he seems sane now, but we should never underestimate the unpredictability of the mind. He must have been suffering extreme paranoia while sending the message.”

I thought it a valid point, but there were so many factors in the muddled mix. “It still doesn’t explain why the Kelbrids aren’t here looking for him. We know what these advanced races are like. You can’t go anywhere without getting some kind of tracker being attached. Look at Marco! Even our supposed allies were tracking us! I can’t believe for even a second that Ax hasn’t been fitted head-to-tail with chips and trackers and God-only-knows what else…”

“I think it’s him,” Menderash reiterated. “I _know_ it’s him.”

“I know him better than you,” I replied matter-of-factly. And it was true. “Come on, we need to get looking.”

There was a surprising number of items that Ax had brought along into the bunker, some things more surprising than others. My priority was to find anything that would indicate the type of vessel that he’d brought to the moon. I imagined it would be some kind of small transporter. An escape pod wouldn’t seem a reasonable assumption since The One’s system was fixed on _Kyritlyp._ There were no escape pods on fixed military bases, as far as I knew. Any indication of how Ax would somehow even get to a ship, alone and undetected, would also be appreciated.

The fact that any of this happened at all… it seemed almost miraculous. Everything about it.

Nevertheless, I still held onto some hope.

There was one single jug where I imagined he drank from. It was bone dry and probably had been for a while. I saw no signs of any food or supplement, so he must’ve only had the water. I noticed the size of the jug… it was large enough - if filled to the brim - that it would take much of Ax’s strength to transport it.

“Hey, Sarge,” I called over. He was inspecting a small, nondescript black item. “Tell me if you find some kind of bag. Or a box.”

“Roger that!” he replied.

I dove back into my search, pushing aside the jug and finding some loose items bundled up against the walls. Small rags, mostly, covered in dust and dirt. Ax must’ve been wiping it from his fur. There were so many!

Something was off about it. I noticed it when I started to look away, but I immediately came back. From a certain angle, I could see a sparkle… There was something other than rags in that pile. I pulled them aside and wrapped my fingers around a golden barrel.

“He took a gun,” I said to the others. I showed it to them. It wasn’t too dissimilar to the weapons we’d often seen Kelbrids handling, but it was a smaller, handheld firearm. Like those rifles, it was gleaming and golden. “Definitely a Kelbrid weapon.”

Santorelli wandered over, and I handed it to him. He looked over it like it was a trophy. “Nice! One for the collection…”

“Another reason why the Kelbrids would be after him,” I said glumly. “I can’t imagine they want Kelbrid technology in Andalite hands.”

“Does that include a communications panel, Jake?”

Menderash was kneeling over something on the opposite side of the room. He leaned over to give me a clear glance. The item was dull, grey, and cylindrical, perhaps a foot tall. Interested, I joined him beside it and squatted down for a closer look. “How do you know it’s for communications?”

“I’m not familiar at all with Kelbrid technology,” he explained. “But this device has instruments that would imply communication.” He placed a hand beneath a protrusion coming from the side. “This looks like a microphone. There are also signs of a speaker at the back, and we know that he was able to send messages.”

“Think you could figure it out?” I asked. 

“I can try…”

I stared up and down the surprisingly bland item. It looked like a throwback to the 80’s. “If it stores messages, maybe we can see if he’s sent anything else. I don’t believe for a moment that, in all the time he was down here, he only sent one.”

“Should we bring it back to the ship?”

“Yeah. We’ll keep it away from Ax.”

Menderash narrowed his gaze at me. “You really think this is a trap, don’t you?”

“Have you forgotten already?” I grumbled. “We assume the worst. That way, we’re not disappointed.”

“Hey, boss!”

We both looked to Santorelli. He was standing central in the room. “Searched this side. Found a few things. Nothin’ interestin’.”

“Did you find a bag?” I asked.

“Not one. Not even a box, or nothin’.”

I nodded. It was a vital clue nestled within my multiple hypotheses. “There’s too much here for him to carry on one trip alone. Would you agree with that, Mendy?”

He didn’t want to answer, I could tell. He took another glance around the room, and his head bowed acceptingly. “I would agree. One Andalite could not transport all of this alone.”

“This is becomin’ one helluva headache…” Santorelli said correctly. 

I quietly agreed, and then said, “Let’s get this stuff to the ship. Mendy, I want you to stay with Groof and try to figure this comms panel out. The rest of us will question Ax. We’ll get to the bottom of this soon.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

We removed several items from the bunker. Menderash, as I’d ordered, took the comms panel straight towards the ship. I looked for Ax’s reaction and took note.

He watched with just a single stalk eye as the three of us took out enough equipment to utilize all six arms. <There is no need for those items anymore,> he spoke nonchalantly.

I stood beside the nearest tree to him. He was in a seated position on the portable bed, looking a little steadier after more water and a sampling of grass that we’d thought to bring with us. Judging by the relative easiness of everybody who’d remained up top, the interrogation had not yet begun. I was satisfied because I wanted to hear every answer myself. I was also happy to see that Marco had brought from the ship a type of alien Dictaphone to record whatever conversation we had. I asked him to repeat whatever Ax said, understanding that thought-speak may not get picked up. 

With my suspicions held snugly to my chest, I started that interrogation.

“So, what happened?” I asked of him.

He turned his main eyes to me, the stalks still surveying the area as if searching for something hidden. <I escaped The One,” he began to explain. “Hosts aren’t attached to the machine at all times. We would have to be fed and watered separately.>

“How does that work?” I said.

<We were removed from our cells… small cocoons that are attached to the system mainframe… and taken to a different facility under extreme supervision. It happened… once every few Earth days, if my recollection is clear. I’m so happy that you came. I thought they’d get me first. The Kelbrids are certainly not as accommodating as Humans, and their grass is far from scrumptious.>

“How did you escape their supervision?” I pressed.

One of his stalk eyes suddenly found me to be more interesting than the adjacent trees. <I made plans. With each visit to the feeding facility, I studied the surroundings. I thought I’d spotted an escape route and a member of the Kelbrid security team with a weakness. As any worthy warrior would do, I exploited the flaw of the adversary. I fought off my captors at the precise moment and escaped where I knew I couldn’t easily be found.>

It sounded reasonable, even if he’d skipped over the finer details. I knew Ax well enough to understand that such cunning would not be beyond him. “And you took a ship?”

<Yes, I did,> he hummed coolly. <That part, I _couldn’t_ plan ahead. I only knew that the escape route led away from the facility. I came into an alley deep inside of the Kelbrid base. They’d raised the alarm, so I knew that I had very little time. 

<Fortunately, Prince Jake, I have gathered enough morphs over my time on Earth that such challenging scenarios become much easier! I morphed a small Earth bird just before they located me amongst the waste disposal units.>

“Both the best and worst kinda place to hide…” Marco commented quietly.

Ax continued, <It didn’t take me long to find a dock. The Kelbrid docks are big and enclosed… much like Earth hangars. There are many entrances, but only one that is safe to enter, even in morph.>

“Why?” I asked.

Ax looked a little embarrassed. <Because of me, they know of the morphing ability. The One has seen all of my knowledge, and all of my memories.> He looked directly at Marco. <I’m sorry to say that your collection of _Hustler_ magazines is well known amongst the Kelbrid military.>

“Geez…” Marco sighed.

Something didn’t sit right with me about that… I recalled the time we were imprisoned on _Kyritlyp_. I distinctly remembered that the General had no idea about us, or even what we were.

<Knowing about the morphing technology, they have implemented scanning devices that can identify foreign creatures that do not belong. Those devices have been built into entranceways associated with the buildings of military bases and personnel.>

 _That_ sounded more familiar. We’d definitely experienced that particular technology… 

So Ax explained, <I knew that the dock must have small ventilation units. Indeed, it had one hidden at the rear of the structure, and I entered through there. It was safe, and I was inside. Once I found the main port, I snuck into one of the transporters and proceeded to the bridge, where I counted on good luck to quickly gain a grasp on the ship’s workings.>

“And you managed to fly from the base unscathed,” I presumed.

<Not wholly unscathed,> he responded. <They didn’t fire on me, but they followed closely. That is until they reached traffic at the atmosphere border.>

Santorelli chuckled. “You tellin’ us that you ran some kinda alien red light?” 

Ax nodded. <That would be a worthy comparison. Only, it was more to do with restrictions on free exit from the planet. The Kelbrids weren’t delayed by much, but it allowed me to leave their line of sight.>

Marco glanced at me, warily. He was just as unconvinced as I was by that portion of the story.

“Then what happened?” I asked.

<I wanted to get over the border,> He said. <But the ship didn’t have much fuel. I came to this moon, which was as far as I could go without being stranded. I knew that the Kelbrids had still been following me, so I used the ship’s radars to find this area, unloaded, and flew it far away to land. Then I walked back here.>

“Any signs of the Kelbrids since you left _Kyritlyp_?” I asked.

<I saw signs of activity in the atmosphere,> he said thoughtfully. <That was when I started to send messages on Andalite frequencies.>

That must have been why he looked so panicked during the transmission. Again, it was a portion of a story that often made of a lot of sense, spewed amongst a list of conveniences and hard-to-believe scenarios.

Then Ax looked up to the sky and around the local area with his stalk eyes. <Prince Jake, how far is the fleet? Are they hidden?>

“There’s no fleet,” I told him.

He looked baffled and uncertain. For a moment, he was lost for words. <I don’t understand… Why have they sent you?>

Marco answered quicker than I could, his eagerness possibly born from bitterness. “They didn’t. Takes a Human to do an Andalite’s job, you know.”

<But…> He looked around again as if he thought we were facetious. <Surely they would attempt to save me.>

“Maybe they will,” I said. “We don’t know. What we _do_ know is that we got here first.”

Ax started to get up. His stance was still quite shaky, but he was able to stand upright and away from the makeshift bed. He bent his front end down in a courteous Andalite bow. I looked so much more dignified than when Humans tried the same. <Prince Jake, I can’t express how thankful I am.>

“Cut it, Ax-man,” I said with a slight chuckle. “You’d do the same for us.”

<You always were my closest friends,> he said, and it felt real. It hard me hard. I suddenly began to picture in my head all of those times where we’d bonded the most. In the mall… Cinnabon… At his scoop… and on the verge of death.

“You thought we’d leave you out here?” I laughed. “We’ve been searching for you for, oh, at least a year.”

“Closer to two now,” Marco estimated. “Do you realize how far behind I’ll be in knowing whos-who in the biz? I’ll be more irrelevant than Dustin Diamond.”

“Dude! Now I know who you remind me of!” Santorelli blurted out.

<Who is this _Dustin Diamond_?> As requested.

“Screech,” I sighed.

<Ah yes, the funny one from Saved by the Bell. I was always amused by his antics.>

Marco shook his head. “I’ve spent two years of my life trying to save somebody who found Screech funny…”

I brought us back on topic before the conversation took a further tangent. “Things have been complicated. When we came out to save you, we took two Andalite ships. Well… Andalite- _held_ ships.”

<You stole them?!> Ax said with shock.

“We knew that we wouldn’t get permission. You were past the _Gratt_ Border, so the Andalites wouldn’t go. We took matters into our own hands, and now we are fugitives from the Andalite military.”

That raised his suspicions. <How did you get my transmission?>

“We were able to intercept,” I responded plainly.

He didn’t buy it. <The frequency I used to transmit is only known by the military.>

“Yeah,” I said. “We know.”

<I can only think of one way…> he pondered. <Menderash must have informed you. That… that’s treason!>

Marco replied, “Come on, Ax. Your brother did the same. Look how that turned out.”

<Yes. Yes, that’s right. However, it will not be seen as such a gracious act by the military.>

“Does it matter?” I reasoned. “You said it yourself: He’s a disgrace. As far as the universe is concerned, he is no longer an Andalite. He’s no more a criminal than we are.”

<The military will want an explanation…> Ax said cautiously. 

“As far as they know, he’s just Eddy Jameson, the bricklayer,” I asserted. “And we found the radio transmission frequency ourselves. In the end, Ax, we don’t care, so long as you’re okay.”

He must have been touched by that because he almost bowed a second time. <You can’t know how much I appreciate this.>

“Like I said, you’d do the same for us,” I reiterated.

He rose to stand tall. The shaking in his legs was lessening. <What is the plan? Will you be returning me to Earth? I admit that I miss it a lot, especially Hot Pockets.>

“We don’t know yet,” I acknowledged. 

“Earth would be a safe bet,” Marco suggested. “Ax can have all the hot pockets he wants, that way. Added bonus: No Andalites around to arrest us. But, you know… Priorities.”

<I can make a transmission to Andal from Earth,> Ax said. <You could take me near an Andalite base. After that, you can trust me to keep your whereabouts safe. In fact, I could help to clear your name. Rescuing me would be considerable leverage.>

After what we did? Not likely… I didn’t bring up my doubts, though.

“Sure thing, Ax,” I said reassuringly. “Hey, any chance you know where you landed your ship?”

He stared at me, blankly for a moment. <My ship? I know vaguely which direction it’s in…>

Helpful… “Might be worth checking it out. Could be useful.”

<I don’t believe so,> he replied. <If the Kelbrids aren’t infesting it, then all it’s good for is scrap and dust.>

“It’s not operational?”

<It was barely operational when I first boarded it.>

Marco asked, “How far away is it?”

<Oh, about thirty Earth miles.>

“Ax,” I said. “Any idea why the Kelbrids haven’t found you yet? I mean… if your ship is only thirty miles away, and its radars found this underground bunker…”

Santorelli finished my stream of thought. “Those slimy bastards woulda been all over you ages ago.”

Ax seemed to shrug it off. <I can’t know how their scouts operate. Perhaps they saw my ship and decided that I was better off dead on this lifeless moon.>

“Or maybe they delayed the party because they expected some extra guests…” Marco suggested, with loud, clear implications.

<They expected Andalites…>

It almost came as a surprise to me that Tobias was still there, still looming away to the side in his Hork-Bajir body. His tone was ghostlier than usual.

<Did the Kelbrids see you?> Ax asked. <Or you them?>

“We didn’t see any ships,” I replied. “And we’re sure they wouldn’t have seen us.”

<We should leave before they have a chance to find us. Their technology is highly advanced. They could be watching us as we speak.>

My heart said _definitely._ My brain, on the other hand, knew that doing so would have been the height of stupidity. “We can’t leave yet,” I said. “There’s a problem with the ship’s portside engine. We’re not leaving until it’s fixed.

Ax surveyed the horizon of dust and dead trees, searching for signs of the vessel that wasn’t truly in need of repair. <What type of ship have you arrived with? Most ships are capable of operation with just one engine in working order.>

“Not any ship you’re familiar with,” I responded.

Everybody else had submitted to silence, just as I would have wanted. They knew that I was formulating a story for them to play along with, and so they wouldn’t risk placing a contradiction into the mix. I was happy that they all took the cues so well!

Ax replied, <Is it not an Andalite ship?>

“It’s an Ooguui ship,” I told him. 

For probably the first time ever, I was the one clearly more knowledgeable on an alien race than he was. He cocked his head with curiosity. <Ooguui?>

“They came to Earth shortly after you disappeared. We were able to take one of their ships.”

He asked hopefully, <Can it work with just one engine?>

“No.”

<Then I will do what I can to help mend it, Prince Jake. Might I see the ship?>

“Sure,” I said. “You able to walk?”

<I am. Thank you for the water. I don’t know how much longer I would have lasted without it.>

He started to walk but almost immediately stumbled. He lacked severely in energy, to the point where even morphing might leak away the last of it. “Easy there,” I said. “Sarge.”

“Roger, boss!” He eagerly jogged to Ax’s side as a Human stabilizer and started to guide him in the direction of the ship, leaving the rest of us to follow cautiously behind.

Tobias was the only one able to speak privately, while Marco and I exchanged uncertain glances. His words were far blunter than ours would have been.

<It’s not him.>


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Tobias’ firm beliefs could not stutter mine. I couldn’t let the views of anybody else determine my collective thoughts, and nor could I act on their instincts. It had to be a careful process because I couldn’t bear to think of making the wrong choice.

I told him that, and he fell silent. It was never possible to understand what was going through his head, and his Hork-Bajir expressions gave little away. He only spoke again when I asked him to contact Groof. I wanted the ship’s cloak down. That was not a technology that Ax needed to know about.

The ship’s beautiful outer coating had become tarnished by the thick dust of the atmosphere, but it could never hide the three sleek engines and the tapered hull that would be entirely alien to Ax. When he spotted it in the distance, behind the few naked trees that stood in the way, his interest was piqued.

<That is the ship? The Ooguui one?>

“That’s her,” Santorelli replied. “Ain’t she a beaut?”

<It’s as unfamiliar as the name,> Ax commented. <It looks like it’s built for speed and efficiency.>

“Got that right,” Marco said.

Ax continued, <I am looking forward to seeing the Ooguui technology. They must be a fascinating race to have built something so artistic.>

“There’s not much to see,” I replied nonchalantly. “It’s just for transport, really.”

<Three engines…> he uttered.

“Port, starboard, and stabilizer,” I informed.

<Ah, I see. Andalite vessels have engines with inbuilt gyroscopes. How unusual to see a separate engine for the purpose!>

So long as he bought it, I was satisfied.

I didn’t expect Groof to have cleaned up. His ship was never entirely free of empty crates and loose litter, but I hoped that he’d put some effort into making it appear to have been inhabited by an Andalite. The race was relatively neat, and probably would be adverse to high levels of dust and grime, unlike the… whatever race Groof was a part of. They didn’t seem to mind so much.

Whatever the case, he would have seen us coming, and just before we arrived, as Ax’s stalk eyes were gazing in splendor at the curving underbelly of the vessel, the hatch opened up with the light spilling down to the cloudy ground, immediately grabbing Ax’s attention.

<This looks like an identification scan,> he mused. <An _Irratat_ device?>

“Not even close,” I replied. “You probably won’t recognize anything, Ax. It’s hardly worth trying.”

<Oh. What is this device, then?>

“Marco?” I said.

Marco took the invitation and stepped forward under the light. Once at a standstill, he began to ascend, sinking upwards into the belly of the ship and disappearing, head down to feet. Once his soles had vanished from sight, Ax thought it appropriate to make a comparison to some other technology that he explained was similar. 

Amid his words, I decided to pay more attention to the naturally growly voice of Groof as it came from inside the ship. <Yay! You found him! Or what appears to be him… Anyway, it’s always nice to have a guest, even if they do have an even number of limbs!> He laughed. <Feel free to let him up. He will see me as an Andalite: Falralar-Timisenin-Arvelor. I am a disgrace, much like Menderash-Postill-Fastill! How exciting!>

“Okay, Ax,” I said to the curious Andalite. “Step under the light. It’ll take you up and into the ship.”

Ax obediently strode forward, and the light from the hatch engulfed his form. He was far too intrigued to be suspicious or cautious, and his stalks twisted and turned gleefully to appreciate the ingenuity as his hooves were lifted from the dust.

Seconds later, his hooves had vanished into the ship. I followed straight after and sought him out immediately as I rose into Groof’s hastily-cleaned lair. As I suspected, the gruff and rusty figure of Falralar was the first food for Ax’s starved brain.

Groof’s Andalite body looked like it had been dragged through the Wild West three times over. The fur was scraggly and unkempt, even discolored in spots to resemble a dull burgundy tint. His tail blade could easily be mistaken for a piece of rusted farming machinery long ago attached to the rear of a tractor, and his face was eternally tarnished with the most disgusted of scowls.

And Groof was good enough of an actor to fulfill the role with a matching attitude.

<So this is the famed Prince Aximili,> he grunted. <Things sure have changed since I was donning silver. This juvenile’s a half-size.>

Judging from Ax’s distasteful reaction, they were phrases well-known in Andalite circles. For a moment, he was frozen by the cold welcome.

If Groof was acting, it meant that I had to, as well. “Ax, this is Falralar,” I said, deliberately stepping between them like a barrier. “He’s our pilot.”

<I’ve never heard of him,> Ax replied in what seemed like retaliation for the insult he’d been given.

<That’s no surprise,> Falralar hummed. <The fools discarded me years ago.>

<What did you do?> Ax asked. <How did you end up here?>

<I took care of business in a way that the silver didn’t seem fit,> Falralar responded coolly. <I stood up for a family name that isn’t worth dirt anymore. There’s not an Andalite alive wishing to see my face again, so I pilot this ship to wherever my grass is juiciest. Now, I may not have much respect for my fellow Andals, and nor would they ever give it back, but rescuing a Prince from the Kelbrids? Somebody’s got to pay up for that.>

Ax’s main eyes trailed to me. <What are you paying him?>

I faked a conscious pause. I needed to appear hesitant like I knew that I was doing something immoral from his perspective. “We’re giving him an _Escafil_ Device,” I said. 

Of course, Ax was made incredibly uncomfortable by this action. I was happy about that.

<Prince Jake… How many Andalite laws have you broken to rescue me from this moon?>

I actually laughed. It wasn’t something I’d really thought about. “Oh… Oh, god, I don’t know. I don’t even think you want an answer.”

His head bowed slightly, and he sighed. <How could I possibly complain? I would never forgive myself if I didn’t do the same for you. Or Tobias, or Marco.>

He thanked us all again, residing cozily in the guise of gratitude. Though he refused to step any further towards the outlaw Falralar, he also received dulled appreciation.

<Where is Cassie?> he asked of us as we began to settle into comfortable resting positions. Falralar had left to repair the engines, heading into the machinery compartments at the rear of the ship where Menderash had taken Ax’s transmitter. Ax looked physically calmer with both of them away. 

Marco answered him. “She had a life. Unlike us saps…”

<Don’t we all have lives?> Ax asked.

“She had Ronnie,” Marco responded to grant more clarity. “And she was involved in stuff that mattered. I got bored of hosting the game show and doing men’s razor ads, so I thought I’d become my own video game… again.”

<I see,> Ax said unsurely. <I’m still so confused by some of the finer details of how you arrived here.>

I replied, “It’s a long, long story.”

“And a borin’ one,” Santorelli added. “Thought I was gonna be a Space Ranger. I never read the part of the job description that told me we’d spend a year lookin’ out of a window at nothin’.”

<When the ship is repaired,> Ax continued. <I would like to go back to my people. I need to explain what happened to _Intrepid_. The One is an incredibly dangerous creation; one that could overwhelm our forces entirely on its own.>

<Not to mention the dozens of Kebrid-allied races joining the fight,> Tobias thought to add.

<The Evrod _._ The Ilkas. The Moov…> Ax uttered. <The Kelbrids have strong allies. Our own are limited in both strength and technology. It’s very troubling.>

“I haven’t even heard of those races,” Marco grumbled.

<They reside on a cluster of planets in _Gratta_ Sector 12-4,> Ax explained. <Their technologies are shared. Their space travel is comparatively slow, but what they lack in speed, they make up for with stealth and cunning. They are formidable, and the Kelbrids daren’t challenge them. With those races as allies, the Kelbrid force is magnitudes more potent, and cover a more extensive range. The chances of restricting their range is practically zero.>

I glanced at Tobias, who was thankfully on the same wavelength. He spoke privately to Groof, still invisible in the bowels of the vessel. <Hey, Groof. Ever heard of the Evrod, the Ilkas, or the Moov?>

His reply came back after a few seconds of consideration. <Evrod sounds familiar… I think it’s a Ssstram delicacy. It goes wonderfully with pizza! Jeanne used to mix them all the time! It’s the only time I’ve ever known Humans to mix well!>

Ax, meanwhile, had continued. <I must return home to inform HQ of what I have learned. It is incredibly valuable information, and much of it regards Kelbrid weaknesses. If we can exploit them, then we may stand a chance.>

“We have to get you out of here first,” I said. “And we can’t be caught. I don’t think even rescuing you is enough leverage anymore. We’ve teamed up with two fugitive Andalites, stolen ships, disregarded orders, and…”

“Made them look like tools,” Marco said.

Santorelli snorted a laugh. “They hate us so much that they blamed the outbreak of war on us!”

Ax looked sorrowful. <I cannot apologize for the actions of my people. I’ll do whatever I can to clear your name, but I make no promises to be successful. You have made many sacrifices to find me, so I can at least try.>

“There’s one way you can help us, that’s for sure,” I suggested, taking a seat in one of the cleaner corners of the cockpit. “Perhaps if we could help to win this war… that would get us off the hook. Being Humans, the Kelbrids might be less suspicious of us. We can get around a lot easier, especially with obscure, non-Andalite ships like this.”

<You want information,> Ax correctly assumed.

“Yeah.”

He looked uneasy, shifting his weight from one forehoof to the other. It couldn’t have been easy. Even if this were truly Ax, divulging high-level military information to known fugitives would be something he’d find deeply objectionable. If we weren’t such close friends, it would be an instant _no_. 

<Very well…> he quietly responded. <There is much I could tell you about.>

“Let’s hear it!” Santorelli joyfully called.

I gave Marco a curt nod. He was on hand to record the details.

Ax shifted to the bulkhead and made himself comfortable. <The One is a highly advanced computer system devised by the Kelbrids. Initially, it was a benign system that connected laboratories and government facilities over a network. In a way, it was like your internet.>

“So the Kelbrids used it for Napster and MySpace?” Marco asked.

<Napster? MySpace?> Ax said, befuddled. <Is that how Humans share confidential information these days?>

“Hmm…” Marco considered. “Nah. It’s more how we share computer viruses and far too much personal information.”

<In that case, no. The One is not like the Human internet.>

I spoke, “I’m guessing they started to repurpose The One for military use.”

<Yes,> Ax replied. <It was first used against a race called the uDorp as a transmission interceptor. Within years, it was reprogrammed to actively infest a ship’s systems and either paralyze them or control them. It works to identify the frequency of a ship’s backup mainframe and infiltrates by shutting down the primary.>

<You saw this all happen?> Tobias asked.

<It’s hard to explain,> Ax hummed thoughtfully. <The One only used my mind when it thought I contained relevant information, and so I was semi-conscious during those times. I couldn’t see, or hear, or speak… It was as if I were merely a brain, absorbing and spilling knowledge.>

“Did you learn anything about The One’s systems? Any weaknesses?” I asked.

<Yes, plenty. The One cannot extend far from its carrier ships. The signals drop exponentially. Signal stations are placed strategically in Kelbrid travel routes, and their armament is limited.>

That was definitely true. 

“Anything else?” Santorelli asked.

Ax continued, <Because The One works via frequencies, it can be countered and nullified by repeating the frequency back, but in the opposite phase.>

“Physics class 101,” Marco commented.

“What’s the frequency?” I asked.

<Translating to Human measurements… six-point-two megahertz.>

“High frequency,” Santorelli said. “Travels strong, but not far.”

Marco seemed surprised and looked back over his shoulder to the Ranger. “How do you know that?”

“I still got _some_ brains,” Santorelli chuckled. “We use radio transmissions in the Army all the time. I learned that stuff in basic training.”

“So it’s simple,” Marco said. “We place jammers by all the signal stations, blocking out the frequencies with Rock FM!”

“Or we could take it out at the source,” I suggested. “Ax, where is The One based?”

<I made sure to note down the co-ordinates as I left the planet,> he explained. <It’s located at a satellite station in a Kelbrid city called _Frioflit_. The central systems reside in an old repurposed hangar. That’s where they hold the captives, too. I was kept in a cocoon of sorts, with my brain wired into the machine.>

“Could you give the co-ordinates?” I asked.

<Certainly, Prince Jake,> he said. He then proceeded to slowly speak the co-ordinates.

I compared them to the co-ordinates that Burr-Ammit had given me back on _Enrich_ ; co-ordinates that he told me Ax and the central systems would be located. They didn’t match. Not even close.

My mind was made up.

I caught Tobias looking at me. He knew that I’d been told the co-ordinates previously, and was waiting for some kind of clarification. I shook my head and pursed my lips enough to deliver a solid message. He looked dejected.

<I will pass this information to the military back on Andal,> Ax asserted. <With luck, it will give us an advantage. The Kelbrids rely too heavily on this technology, and they will be crippled without it.>

I nodded. “Once the ship is repaired, we’ll take you to Earth. From there, you can contact the Andalite military. We’ll be done. There’s nothing left for us to fight for.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Despite the defeat that encircled me, a faint ray of hope was starting to shine through. It was weak, and it was distant, but it meant that I had something to aim for, and I certainly had the desire to try for it with every fiber of my being. What else was there to do, but accept defeat and leave for a home with nothing left to give?

I saw it in the others, too. Behind the hidden sadness of realization, there grew a determination.

Maybe not… Maybe it was just a reflection of my own. That, though, was good enough.

Ax tried to learn all that he could from us. He perused the control panels of Groof’s ship, prodded into each little corner for clues, and probed us with questions. We’d collectively seen through the façade, and where I could, I introduced extra titbits of inaccurate information, just believable enough to be correct, but false enough to be useless. I knew deep down that he was doing precisely the same to us. Still, I had Marco note down everything he said. Every little nugget of info would be incredibly valuable.

I made my choice right then. No more waiting around.

In the meantime, we had to control this situation. _I_ had to. We had the perfect opportunity to clear a path.

Marco, Santorelli, and Tobias were thoroughly on board with the plan. It was the other two that I might have had issues with, and so when I was assured that Ax was preoccupied, I snuck away into the deeper compartments at the rear of the vessel. It was cramped and noisy, like the innards of a submarine. There was a consistent low hum, and the air was thick and damp. I found Menderash and Groof together, trying to look busy and being only moderately successful.

<Ah, Jake!> Groof chirped. <I hope the reunion is going splendidly!>

I kept my voice low. “No reunion,” I said plainly.

The horrid, aged face of his Andalite morph appeared sorrowful. <Is it definitely not him?>

Menderash had turned away from the communication device he’d been working on, alerted to the severity of the news I’d brought. <What makes you think that?>

I took three steps back and ensured that the entrance to the compartment was sealed shut. “Keep it private,” I told them. “He’s still on the ship.”

<Hmm... If you are so sure, you should probably keep him outside,> Groof recommended.

“We can’t have him know that we’re onto him,” I reasoned. “Marco and Sarge are trying to get more info from him right now.”

Menderash sighed in exasperation. <You still haven’t said why you suspect him.>

“He gave the wrong coordinates for The One’s main system Headquarters,” I said.

<How wrong?> Menderash asked.

“Significantly wrong,” I replied. “A few hundred miles wrong. He said that he took the coordinates as he left the base.”

<There could be many explanations for that,> Menderash said in Ax’s defense. <His ship may have had faults. After all, it would have been a ship in dock, perhaps going through repairs. Maybe his perception was confused after having just recently escaped The One.>

“He seemed pretty certain,” I said. “Just like he was certain about the Kelbrid allies that were just as strong – if not stronger – than them. And one more thing…” I looked back at Groof. “How does The One transfer from ship to ship?”

<Electromagnetic wave pulses,> he explained. <At a frequency of fourteen-point-four megahertz.>

“Not six-point-two?” I asked.

<Six-point-two? No,> Groof clarified.

“That’s what Ax said. Apparently, it’s the best way to nullify The One: shooting back waves at that frequency.”

Groof hummed, <From what I know, that would achieve nothing. If only it were that simple!>

Three untruths. Yet, Menderash still wasn’t convinced. <So he has inaccurate information. That’s not enough to condemn him as some kind of… façade!>

“I know what this is,” I started. “It’s a trap for the Andalite military. The Kelbrids place an Ax clone on a deserted moon in the hope that he’d get picked up. It’s a perfect way to spread misinformation while collecting it. That’s why we’re getting told about these _scary new races_. It’s a great way to convince the Andalites to hold back and wait. Honestly, though, I don’t think they expected Humans to turn up. Ax was acting a little unsure at first, and he’s desperate to get back to the Andalites.”

<It sounds like a conspiracy theory,> Menderash hissed. <Madness! How much faith are you putting into _Enrich_ to reach this answer? How can we know that they haven’t been lying to us this whole time?>

<Um…> Groof uttered awkwardly. <Do you two need some private time?>

“No. Stay here, Groof,” I told him.

<I think you made a mistake,> Menderash accused, bolting up from his previously slouched position. <Think about it, Jake: _Enrich_ has its own goals, and they couldn’t care less about our fates. Who’s to say that they aren’t manipulating us as part of some _grand scheme_?>

“If you’re convinced that they’re lying to us, then how do you explain Ax?” I demanded. “If they’re lying, and Ax is really here, then they’ve allowed us to find him, and we can head home tomorrow.”

He allowed that to sink in, and perhaps he was arriving at some revelations. He solemnly backed down with barely an exhale of breath. 

I was growing ever more aware of his lack of belief, and now a member of _Enrich_ was there to witness it first-hand. Not that it mattered… Surote admitted openly that he’d noticed Menderash’s private hostility. If I couldn’t rein him in, then he would be in grave danger. In the end, that would only ever be my fault.

“Have you found anything in the communications system?” I asked, diverting away from the touchy matter.

<Three messages,> he replied. <All mayday signals, one of them being the one that we intercepted.>

“Is that all that’s there?” I asked.

His fingers were fiddling their way back into the depths of the computer systems. <There’s a lot more of the system that I haven’t explored.>

“Keep searching,” I said. “We need all the evidence we can get. Groof?”

<Yes, Jake?> Groof asked, stepping forward on morphed hooves.

“What are the chances of Surote allowing us to head to _Kyritlyp_?”

<Hmm…> he thought. <That would be a perilous mission. Did you want to find the real Ax?>

“Can’t think of any other reason to go there.”

<I don’t think he’d allow you to go. You Humans are so squishy and easily killed. That’s why you must wear hardened vests and helmets!> he laughed.

“Right…” I sighed. Yet another headache to overcome.

<Jake? Menderash?>

That was Ax’s voice. He must have gotten itchy hooves in the bridge. I stepped back to the doorway and flicked the switch to open it, allowing his entry. He walked in, surveying us and the area diligently.

<I came to see how the repairs were going,> he spoke nonchalantly, his inspections concentrated on the large machines that rumbled beside the port bulkhead.

<What would a soft daffer like you know about engines?> Groof… _Falralar_ sneered. I could only imagine what _soft daffer_ meant.

Ax bought the insult as expected, jerking his head around accusingly to Falralar. <I know a broken engine from a working one,> he retorted. 

<Okay then. Stick your head inside and find out,> Falralar grunted.

Ax quickly realized that this Falralar character was not worth arguing with, and with an exasperated sigh turned his focus to Menderash. One stalk eyes, however, remained fixed to the ragged old antagonist. <Menderash, how is work coming along with the engines?>

Menderash dutifully stood up tall, coming away from the communications device. “My Prince, Falralar is mending the engine.”

Ax was perplexed. <I thought you would be helping. We need to get it fixed as soon as possible.>

I stepped in. “Falralar can fix the engine. I got Menderash to look at your communications device.”

<Why?> Ax asked.

I thought quickly, “We think that it’s trackable. The Kelbrids could be homing in on its transmissions.”

My excuse was seen with plenty of doubt, but at least it seemed like Ax bought it, even if he clearly thought of my paranoia as naïve. <It’s not transmitting. The Kelbrids won’t be following it. Jake, I suggest putting Menderash to work on the machinery. If we take too long, the Kelbrids may find us, and they won’t need to follow radio transmissions to do so.>

Falralar gave his own brutish opinion. <I don’t need extra hands getting in the way. I can do it faster on my own. Besides, Menderash doesn’t know this vessel. I do.>

<I don’t understand why this must be an argument,> Ax said. <We have no further need for the communication device, but a _desperate_ need for working engines. Jake, are you in command of this vessel?>

“Yes,” I replied. 

<I urge you to make the right decision. Delaying our movement will put us in danger.>

“Our radars haven’t picked up any Kelbrids vessels in the area. There’s no sign of any,” I explained. “The best thing we can do is avoid our location becoming apparent.”

I could see that he was growing frustrated. His reasoning was valid, of course, but I would not back down. I couldn’t afford to.

Ax, though, was prepared to pull rank. <First Officer Menderash. You should dispose of that unit and help to fix the portside engine.>

Suddenly, Menderash was the one being tested, and the stunned look on his face described just that. He looked from Ax to me, and back to Ax again. Now he had two superiors giving contradictory orders. Question was… who would he follow? His old Prince, who he blamed himself for losing, or the Human he no longer allowed himself to call a Prince?

His head sunk, and I could see his regret as he pushed ahead with the wrong decision. “He is my Prince, Jake. I have to obey his orders.”

I let my stare dwell on him. “Okay.”

Menderash lost eye contact with both of us as he shunted the communications device roughly to the back of the compartment, its guts spilling out onto the floor. He stepped over a series of pipes to join Falralar by the engine machinery.

<I’m sorry to have to contradict your wishes,> Ax spoke privately to me. <But this will be safer. We must return to Andalite Space.>

I guess I had to take matters into my own hands. Sooner, rather than later.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

“That’s how we’re going to do it.” 

There was plenty of uncertainty around the group, and that was to be expected. Only Tobias showed no signs of emotion on a feathery, beaked face.

Ax and Groof were in the machinery space, with Groof still pretending to fix the vital engine. Menderash, against my wishes, had stayed with them. He was no longer under my control, and I’d explained that to the others. He did not wish to follow along the path that I led.

Marco was the most shocked of them all. I could tell just by his baffled shake of the head. “Dude, if he says no… we’re going to have worse enemies than Andalites and Kelbrids after us.”

“We don’t know that,” I replied. “If nobody comes to any harm, then we can justify it. The One will be distracted enough that it would be reasonable to take that moment to our advantage. If I’m right – that Ax is sending transmissions to the Kelbrids – then they will assume that we are heading back home. They won’t suspect anything else.”

“I get that,” Santorelli hummed. “But what about when they stop receivin’ messages? They gonna think somethin’s up?”

“That’s why we have to be quick. Groof can get us there, almost instantaneously.”

“He could also take us right back to _Enrich…_ ” Marco grumbled, unconvinced.

“Has anybody watched Groof operating the teleportation?” I asked openly.

And, just as I suspected… <I have.>

We looked up to Tobias, who was nestled snugly atop a pipe that ran the length of the bridge.

“Can you see what he inputs when he takes us back to _Enrich?_ ” I asked.

<Yes. I can remember the squiggles. Vaguely, anyway.>

I pressed further, “And the buttons and switches?”

<Red button to activate; input co-ordinates; flick both left-most and third-in switches on the silver dashboard. Hold the same red button, while pulling the golden lever. Same every time.>

I nodded. “We input the _Kyritlyp_ co-ordinates that we got when we took _The Shadow._ If Groof doesn’t co-operate, then we do it ourselves.”

“And hope he doesn’t devour us and turn our bones into his fancy new earrings…” Marco added.

“He’s outnumbered,” I said. “And besides, we have his weapons.”

I pulled up one of Eebing’s weapons and rubbed a finger down the shimmering barrel. They hadn’t been required so far.

“I like this plan,” Santorelli commented. 

Marco laughed lightly and shook his head once more. “So do I. It’s stupid. It’s insane. In. Sane. But those were always the best ones.”

“It’s about time we saw some action!” Santorelli cheered. 

I shushed him quickly. “Tobias, could you tell Groof that we’re ready to go?”

<Sure.> He proceeded to privately send Groof the message. In a short time, he would announce that the engine was ready to be tested. During that test, we’d be told that we were prepared to leave for home.

Now, we just had to act normal. 

Ax and Menderash were the first to arrive back into the main compartment of the ship. Ax looked pleased. Menderash looked more conflicted than I’d ever seen him. Needless to say, he didn’t suspect a thing.

<Falralar says that the engine is ready for testing,> Ax spoke as he emerged into the compartment. <With luck, it will be repaired.>

“Let’s hope so!” Santorelli replied, jumping away from the wall he’d been leaning against.

“Hey Ax, guess what,” Marco said.

Ax looked at him with his main eyes. <Guess what?>

“Guess!”

<… I am confused. Is this a test?>

“I got a PS3,” Marco revealed. “When we get back, you can come visit my mansion for a while, and we’ll make a night of it.”

<That sounds exciting!> Ax proclaimed. <Will there be cinnamon buns?>

“More than you can ever hope to eat.”

<I accept your challenge.>

I left them to their façade and spotted Menderash gazing over the ship’s main control panel. He remained pensive and unsure, and so I approached him. He barely acknowledged me through his black, curly hair.

<You’ve made your decision,> he assumed correctly.

“Yeah, I have,” I replied.

<He is my Prince,> Menderash said. <And I still believe that is so. I must obey his commands and respect his leadership. I must also defend him, with my life if I have to.>

“You won’t need to do that,” I explained. “We’re not going to kill him.”

<How can I trust you?>

That hurt. It sent me reeling, and for a moment, I must have appeared physically struck. I reined it in and cleared my throat. “When have I ever broken your trust before, huh?”

<Under your leadership, I have sided with traitors, and I have become a fugitive from my people. Now you are trying to turn me against my own Prince. I can’t trust your decisions anymore.>

I sighed and looked down at my feet. “We’re going to save Ax. The _real_ Ax. If you don’t trust me enough to help, then you won’t. It’s that simple.”

He became slightly more attentive to me. <What is your plan?>

“We’re going to _Kyritlyp._ Now.”

Before I could explain any further, Groof emerged from the machinery space at the rear of the compartment, still deep in the guise of the grouchy rebel Falralar. He stomped forward and past everybody, right up between Menderash and me at the cockpit. <Apologies for the wait. There were far too many fingers dithering in my way.>

“Is it fixed?” I asked of him.

He answered me, looking with just one stalk eye. <I have realigned the balance pistons. It should be fully functional now. I’m just about to run through the start-up procedure.>

Ax stepped forward, still keeping a considerable distance between himself and Falralar, both stalk eyes at full attention. <I am eager to see this ship in action. The engines are very peculiar!>

<I hate you officers so much…> Falralar groaned. Ax pretended not to notice.

He started to activate the ship’s necessary functions, doing it slowly as if to appear tentative. He watched the dials and levels closely while the compartment around us lit us with indicators and switches. The main compartment lights dimmed somewhat, leaving us all in a bluer hue.

Ax was showing much interest in the ship’s activation but still found a moment to ask of our plan. <Prince Jake, if the engines are indeed ready, will we be heading back to Earth straight away? Marco seems to have planned a Games and Cinnamon Bun night at his home, and though I’m aware that I have an urgent need to get back to my people, his offer is quite irresistible.>

“We’ve discussed it,” I started. “And yeah, we’re going back to Earth. We don’t want to run the risk of getting arrested, so we’ll go home and drop you near the California Andalite Spaceport when you’re ready.”

<I appreciate that very much,> he said, bowing his stalk eyes. <And your secrets will be safe with me, for so long as you wish. I will tell the War Commander that you have saved me, and maybe he will grant a pardon. Whatever the case, I will make sure that we have a line of contact.>

“Sounds good to me,” I responded. “When we get home, we’ll catch up over a drink.”

I heard a ruffle and gazed back to the ceiling of the compartment. Tobias had left.

<Things appear to be running smoothly,> Groof announced to the room. <Engines are stable. They are correctly balanced. I’m lifting the vessel away from the ground for the final check.>

The ship rumbled beneath our feet, and engines' dull moaning vanished with little more to vibrate against. It pleased Ax, whose smile was visible to the room.

<Almost without sound… This must be an enjoyable ship to travel in. >

“Maybe if it was a little larger than a coffin…” Marco commented.

<There’s plenty of space with less people,> Groof uttered, still very much in character.

And then, he spoke to me privately. <Jake, I have cloaked the ship with a transmission disruptor. Nothing is getting in or out! Isn’t that exhilarating?!>

Ax was still none the wiser, and he was casually inspecting a series of dials on the starboard bulkhead. <This language is bizarre,> he muttered. <Do you read from left to right, like your English language?>

“Don’t ask me,” I said. “Only Falralar knows, and he doesn’t think explaining it is worth his time.”

<The engines are repaired,> Groof announced with a slight hint of cheer. <We’re ready to move.>

I ordered, “Take us out of the atmosphere. Sarge, keep eyes on the radar for other ships.”

“Gotcha, boss!”

Out of the cockpit, the barren, dusty moon began to fall away. Clouds bristled against the reinforced glass, and soon, all that could be seen was the dark brown mist of the moon’s cluttered atmosphere. The ship rumbled harshly, but as the world outside became emptier, the jittering died down to nothing. The dark brown became the infinite black of space, partially obscured by the bleak horizon of the land.

<We have left the atmosphere. We’re drifting,> Groof announced. <Where do you Humans want to go next?>

“Set co-ordinates for Earth,” I replied.

<Very well,> he grumbled. <Everybody to the back on the compartment in preparation for acceleration.>

I lifted a hand toward the back of the compartment for Ax. “It’s a pretty sharp acceleration. Probably best that you stand back.”

I led the way, heading to the wall beside the hatch to the engine space at the rear. 

Ax trustingly followed. I stepped aside, and he leaned against the wall closest to the hatch. Marco and Menderash joined us, holding onto firm protrusions on the port side. Santorelli stayed by the radar and pretended to hold himself firmly in place with the use of an out-sticking pipe.

<This is very unusual,> Ax murmured. <Why don’t you simply accelerate once entirely free of atmosphere? You would not experience such forces.>

We didn’t need to provide an answer. Quick as a flash, the big fist of the Hork-Bajir shot around the frame of the open hatch. It clobbered noisily with Ax’s skull, far too quick and unexpected for him to even think of reacting. He fell back against me, and I was squeezed out of the way as his unconscious body crumpled to the floor. He wasn’t going to get up any time soon.

My immediate attention went to Menderash. He bolted up and took one step towards his fallen Prince. Tobias revealed himself from the engine space and provided an intimidating obstacle to block his path.

I heard Menderash’s seething breath. “You’re making a mistake.”

“No. I’m doing exactly what Ax would do in my place.”

He appeared ready to lash out, but I knew that Tobias would be enough of a deterrent, long enough for him to calm.

Groof had assessed the situation and had started to demorph. He’d been Andalite for a while. <Good job, Humans! I have fluids in the aid box that will keep him asleep for as long as you need.>

“Thanks, Groof,” I said.

We waited for him to demorph fully. The blue fur was sucked down into a hardened exoskeleton, his stalk eyes shriveled away, and finally, the deadly tail blade became little more than blunt shell. His earrings stayed stubbornly in place, the only parts not to change.

He clapped his pincers excitedly. “Wonderful! Let’s head back to _Enrich_ for a marvelous acid shower! Oh, wait, you Humans prefer pH neutral showers… I suppose you can enjoy that, too.”

I came away from the back of the compartment and stood beside the starboard weapons hold. “Groof, there’s been a change of plan.”

The massive bug tip-tapped his spindly legs to face me directly. “There has? Did you wish to visit Earth after all?”

“No,” I said. “We should go to _Kyritlyp_. If Ax was sending messages to The One, then this is the perfect time to go. You can get us to the planet instantly, and we have Burr-Ammit’s co-ords. We need to find out if this is the real Ax.”

Groof scratched uneasily at his thorax. “That is very hasty. I admire such Human courage, even though Humans barely have the physical strength to make it an efficient principle!”

He laughed. Clearly, he wasn’t taking us too seriously.

“Maybe it’s hasty,” I suggested. “But we’ve always been a little impatient. We need you to take us to _Kyritlyp._ ”

He laughed, but now it seems more nervous… as far as I could decipher the nervous laughter of his bizarre race. “It has to be approved, first. Perhaps when we get back to _Enrich,_ we could discuss this with Surote. He may allow it.”

“No. You will take us there _now._ ”

“I can’t.”

I reached right and wrapped my hand around Eebing’s rifle. I held it, the barrel staring ahead to the befuddled alien. Other clicks echoed through the compartment, as Marco and Santorelli drew their weapons, too. Suddenly, Groof’s jovial nature had melted away.

“You can,” I urged. “And you will.”

“This is a very unexpected turn of events…” Groof commented offhandedly. 

“Sorry, man,” said Marco. “It’s nothing personal. We just want Ax back, and we’re not waiting any longer.”

“Hands up!” Santorelli bellowed, forcing a jump even from us. “Or pincers! Whatever!”

“Okay, okay,” Groof replied, raising the pincers that Santorelli clearly thought to be too dangerous to leave unchecked.

“Now, turn around!” he continued. “All the way!”

Slowly, Groof returned to the cockpit, pincers still up in the air.

Santorelli wagged a finger to Tobias. The big Hork-Bajir pushed ahead in the compartment, directing Menderash forward, too, with a hand. Menderash was diverted to the side where he was in everybody’s sights, and Tobias stood beside Groof, watching closely over his bug shoulder to the controls.

Santorelli shouted, “Now, the co-ordinates! Take us to _Kyritlyp_!”

Groof sighed. Even if he looked, he’d notice that any potential weapon had been removed. All that he had at his disposal was the control panel. He gently lowered his pincers and started to procedure to teleport the ship. Tobias kept watch with unrelenting eyes.

<Those are the wrong co-ordinates,> Tobias stated after a moment of Groof’s alterations.

“Better not be…” Santorelli said.

Suddenly, Groof’s actions became frantic! His pincers whirred, slamming mechanically at the controls. Tobias’ reaction was purely reactionary, and Groof met the same fate that Ax had moments earlier. However, Groof did not immediately lose consciousness. He fell but started to writhe away. 

The writhing stopped when three barrels were aimed down at him. He raised his pincers again in defense.

“I-I’m just the taxi!” he uttered.

Tobias spoke back to us, <He put in the co-ordinates for _Enrich._ He was about to take us back there.>

“I only perform approved actions,” Groof clarified. “I can’t in good conscience take you to _Kyritlyp_ when you are so unprepared.”

“We’ll take you back to _Enrich_ when we have Ax,” I said. “Tobias, input the coordinates. Let’s do it.”


End file.
